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The recovery of the people of Israel as Gentile Christianity has “died”

Today, we face a serious crisis of Christianity – there are nearly no more Gentile Christians; therefore, the Jews should come spiritually alive again. Never in history, there was a time when God had absolutely no more testimony on earth, but today, that seems to be true.

 

Prayer requests:

  • may the Lord give the Jews salvation
  • may the Lord cause the recovery of the people of Israel (that they may recover spiritually)
  • that the Jews may realize their Messiah, Jesus
  • that the Lord leads the Jews to baptism (that they get themselves baptized voluntarily)
  • that the people of Israel may renounce Judaism and embrace Christianity

 

Question:

What is a Gentile Christian?

Answer:

A Gentile Christian is a Gentile who believes in Jesus.

 

Question:

What is a Gentile?

Answer:

Somebody who is not a Jew.

 

Question:

How is a Jew called who believes in Jesus?

Answer:

Jewish Christian

(by definition, a Jew who believes in Jesus shall be called “Jewish Christian”)

 

Question:

What is a (real) Jew?

Answer:

Somebody who is of the stock of the Jewish patriarch Jacob.

(in other words: a biological descendant of the Jewish patriarch Jacob)

 

Concerning “Messianic Jews”

The term “Messianic Jew” must not be used in the Christian Church to name a Jewish Christian because it has got a very bad connotation; the connotation of the term “Messianic Jew” is the following: somebody who recognizes Jesus as the Jewish Messiah but adheres to a kind of baptism which is a mere symbolic act, and keeps the law of the Tanakh in a Jewish manner. Briefly: a Jewish Christian is by no means a Messianic Jew. It is nonsense to name a Jewish Christian Messianic Jew. A Messianic Jews fancies to believe in Christ, and his whole “faith” is pure delusion, and he will end up in eternal damnation. In contrast, a Jewish Christian really believes in Jesus and will reap eternal life.

 

Somebody who adheres to a mere symbolic baptism (which usually takes place after an obscure, alleged rebirth) is excluded from the Christian Church. Adherents of symbolic baptism will end up in eternal damnation.

Somebody who keeps the law of the Tanakh in a Jewish manner is excluded from the Church and will end up in eternal damnation (exception: if a Jewish Christian lives in a mainly Jewish surrounding, he may keep the law for the sake of the Jews who still reject the Christian faith – it is about to give no umbrage which could hinder a Jew to become a Jewish Christian; the Jewish Christian must by all means stand firm in his heart that he doesn’t become righteous through works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ).

 

Question:

What is the Christian Church?

Answer:

The Christian Church are all people who believe in Jesus. The Christian Church consists of two groups: Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. One may simply say “Church” instead of “Christian Church” – that is perfectly okay. Within the Church, the strict distinction between Jews and Gentiles does not exist – as strictly as Jews and Gentiles are separated from each other outside the Church, as strictly they are connected, united and joint together within the Church. Of course, this is valid also when a Jewish Christian and a Gentile Christian have to deal with each other outside any church building or in everyday life. A Jewish Christian and a Gentile Christian are always members of the Church and true brothers no matter if they are inside or outside a church building.

If anybody who calls himself a Christian wants to confer the distinction which exists between Jews and Gentiles outside the Church upon Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, then this raises strong suspicion that he doesn’t have got the Holy Spirit or damped Him (God, the Spirit) tremendously. A Christian who is spiritually alive will never, never, never make a distinction between a Jewish Christian and a Gentile Christian. After somebody has become a believer in Christ, the natural descent (biological descent) plays absolutely no more role. Only the faith in Jesus is significant.

Assuming that I had a company, of course, I would not only employ believers but also unbelievers because a company is not a church, and everything is about commerce; nevertheless, also as boss of a company I remain a Christian with Christian convictions. I (Rainer Helmut Braendlein) am a Gentile Christian. Let us assume my company would consist of Gentiles and Gentile Christians (for example, Germans and German Christians) and some Jewish Christians. Of course, there would be tensions between my Gentile employees and my Jewish Christian employees because the Gentiles don’t like somebody who is a Jew by nature (that is sad but a matter of fact). Now, I as a Gentile Christian had to protect my Jewish Christian employees, my brothers, against my Gentile employees despite the fact that I am a natural-born Gentile (it should not be assumed that there would be any tensions between my Gentile Christian employees and my Jewish Christian employees).

Of course, I would also employ pure Jews (Jews who don’t believe in Jesus). What would I do when there would be tensions between my Jewish employees and my Gentile employees?

As long as their would be no anti-Jewish legislation in the country (for example, Germany) where my company is, I would simply make sure that the Gentile employees and the Jewish employees would not harm each other in violation of any state law. Of course, that is only valid as long as there is no anti-Jewish legislation in the country where my company is. During the Third Reich, regrettably, there was anti-Jewish legislation in Germany. During that time (I did not yet live back then) a man like me had had to protect his Jewish employees against the Gentile employees who wanted to harm them according to German Nazi-law (note that during the Third Reich the Nazi-law was simply called “law”), risking a shutting down of my company through the Nazis – the true discipleship of Jesus Christ was always and will always be very costly. The real grace is costly. By the way, the man who coined the term “costly grace”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, protected Jews who were persecuted on the basis of wrong legislation, Nazi-legislation, during the Third Reich.

However, as long as legislation is not anti-Jewish but constitutional, any Jew is protected by the ordinary law. The Gentile will usually  keep the law as long as there is no turmoil; though, he may have an intrinsic aversion for Jews. Of course, the mere inward aversion for Jews cannot be turned off by any state law but only by the rebirth out of Water and Spirit, which is the sacramental baptism, instituted by Christ himself. As I mentioned above, a Gentile Christian (a Gentile Christian is a Gentile who has experienced the rebirth out of Water and Spirit) should never hate a Jew or Jewish Christian simply because he is a Jew by nature – the thinking and acting of a Gentile Christian should always be according to his rebirth or baptism.

Me, I am a German, and I say, “my dearly beloved Jewish Christian brother, you are highly welcome in the Church, and I ask you, “do you consider me as a Christian?” and “am I allowed to be a member of the Church of the Saints?”

To pure Jews, I would say, “please renounce Judaism and embrace Christianity”. I cannot love you with the same love with which I would love a Jewish Christian, and you cannot be a member of the Church as long as you don’t believe in Jesus. Of course, you are not saved by your possible Jewish belief or Judaism, but you are lost. Yet, I want to act according to state law (provided, it is not anti-Jewish) when I have to deal with you. Hopefully, you will convert soon – wish you well. Dear Jew, as long as you adhere to Judaism, there is a tremendous distinction between us which I am not allowed to deny. Judaism is a bad heresy from the point of view of the Christian Church, and heresy is a very serious sin, which cannot be easily ignored.

 

SEO (dear reader, the following section is merely a technical appendix – you don’t need to read it)

The following words, phrases and terms, I have only inserted here for the sake of SEO (search engine optimization); hopefully, when you would enter one of the following tags or keywords in any search engine, my website https://israelrecovery.wordpress.com could be amongst the search results:

Jews salvation, recovery of the people of Israel, Messiah Jesus, Jews baptism, Judaism and Christianity, Jews for Jesus, Jews for Judaism, my Jewish learning, difference Christianity and Messianic Judaism, connection Gentile Christianity and Jewish Christianity, relationship Christian Church and Israel and the Jews,  second coming of the Lord, connection baptism and rebirth, connection baptism and salvation, the two witnesses, the two olive trees, the two candlesticks, Babylon and mankind, Babylon and beast, beast and corrupt governments, beast and corrupt religious communities, rejection evangelical faith, mission amongst the Jews, gospel of Jesus Christ, righteousness through works or faith in Jesus, practical Christian life, the Tanakh and the Christian faith, the Tanakh and the New Testament, the crucifixion of Christ and Judaism, Israel and the USA, the molten sea, the molten sea and the number Pi, molten sea symbolizes the grace of God, interpretation Revelation 11, interpretation Revelation 16, interpretation Revelation 17, interpretation Revelation 18, interpretation Revelation 19, drought Israel, Israel and the Muslims, who is the God of Israel, the Temple and the presence of God, restoration Temple, emigration to Israel, Israel sovereign country, circumcision and salvation, eating pork and faith, descent from Jacob and salvation, the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the keeping of the Sabbath , St. Paul and Judaism, Queen Esther, Purim and the Holocaust, Jesus Jew, Apostles Jews, the questioning of Jesus through Pontius Pilate, the betrayal by Judas, the denial of Christ by St. Peter, Moses murderer, David murderer, Easter and Passover, Jesus Passover lamb, the Lord’s Supper, faith and health, the end of the world and the Bible

 

 

 

Passover – interpretation of Exodus (The Book of Shemot), Chapter 12 (biblical passage from the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh)

Exodus 12

1 And HaShem spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: 2 ‘This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; 4 and if the household be too little for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbour next unto his house take one according to the number of the souls; according to every man’s eating ye shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats; 6 and ye shall keep it unto the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at dusk. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; its head with its legs and with the inwards thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; but that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste–it is HaShem’S Passover. 12 For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am HaShem. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to HaShem; throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; howbeit the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 16 And in the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. 17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore shall ye observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance for ever. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. 19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses; for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a sojourner, or one that is born in the land. 20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.’ 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them: ‘Draw out, and take you lambs according to your families, and kill the passover lamb. 22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. 23 For HaShem will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, HaShem will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which HaShem will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you: What mean ye by this service? 27 that ye shall say: It is the sacrifice of HaShem’S passover, for that He passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.’ And the people bowed the head and worshipped. 28 And the children of Israel went and did so; as HaShem had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 29 And it came to pass at midnight, that HaShem smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said: ‘Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve HaShem, as ye have said. 32 Take both your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.’ 33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, to send them out of the land in haste; for they said: ‘We are all dead men.’ 34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. 35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. 36 And HaShem gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. And they despoiled the Egyptians. 37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, beside children. 38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual. 40 Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the host of HaShem went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It was a night of watching unto HaShem for bringing them out from the land of Egypt; this same night is a night of watching unto HaShem for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. 43 And HaShem said unto Moses and Aaron: ‘This is the ordinance of the passover: there shall no alien eat thereof; 44 but every man’s servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof. 46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to HaShem, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. 49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.’ 50 Thus did all the children of Israel; as HaShem commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 51 And it came to pass the selfsame day that HaShem did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

Interpretation

Here in Exodus 12, we do not read that any Israelite was left behind in Egypt: at first, every Israelite should get a chance to get to the Promised Land, independent from his current condition.

But later, we can read the following:

Numbers 14: 35 I HaShem have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. (the congregation had grumbled against HaShem; there were evil scouts who told them that the Promised Land would be bad, and unfortunately they believed their lies; thus, HaShem became angry on them).

Numbers 26: 51 These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty (this census took place when the people of Israel were about to occupy the Promised Land after a very long walking in the wilderness – forty years!).

Numbers 26: 63-65 63 These are they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. 64 But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For HaShem had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. (note the census in the wilderness of Sinai which had taken place many decades before the census when they were about to occupy the Promised Land).

HaShem led our brothers out of Egypt (first census took place), and they celebrated Passover, but nearly all of them died in the wilderness save Joshua and Caleb. The people who were allowed to enter the Promised Land were no more the generation which had gone out of the land of Egypt but their descendants (note: this consideration concerns only “counted” Israelites; only male Israelites which were at least twenty years old and fit for military service had firstly been counted in the wilderness of Sinai, and secondly in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho when they were about to occupy the Land).

Numbers 26: 2 ‘Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel.’

The first census after the people of Israel had left Egypt:

Numbers 1: 1-3 1 And HaShem spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; 3 From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their hosts.

Numbers 1: 46 even all those that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

Dear reader, what do we have to conclude when we consider all that?

The following:

Our brothers had indeed left Egypt in an outward manner but not in an inward manner, and therefore HaShem was not pleased with them, and they had to die in the wilderness.

Numbers 14: 4 And they said one to another: ‘Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.’

(note that all those who died in the desert celebrated Passover; they were religious, but their kind of religion which was only outward could not save them or help them to reach the Promised Land).

HaShem wanted to be really the G-d of our brethren, their real G-d. More was at stake than the mere outward exodus out of Egypt:

Exodus 4: 22-23 22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith HaShem, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: 23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.

Exodus 5: 1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith HaShem, the G-d of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

Exodus 6: 6-8 6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am HaShem, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a G-d: and ye shall know that I am HaShem your G-d, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am HaShem.

Our brothers way back were certainly not aware of the fact that their worship service was only outward; yet, they made a certain mistake which reduced their service to a mere outward service. One cannot turn a blind eye on that matter – this mistake was too grievous.

A famous Jew and Roman citizen once said: Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to G-d for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of G-d, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of G-d’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of G-d.

Our brethren were not able to serve G-d in a manner which had pleased him, and HaShem was forced to tell them this through commandments. G-d wanted them to realize that something  was wrong with their natural character, and that they would need G-d, who could regenerate them so that their life as regenerated people would not get in conflict with the law (commandments). If they had understood the deeper meaning of the Passover, the leaven, and the bitter herbs which is connected with a regeneration of our character, no commandments had been necessary. Also Abraham once lived without having a law given by G-d (G-d had not yet given the law) which did not mean that Abraham was lawless or g-dless – on the contrary. G-d had called Abraham, and that supernatural call had regenerated Abraham and changed him so that he could lead a life which pleased G-d. Though, Abraham had got no single commands, he lived as a righteous and he is still honoured today as a righteous; this came to pass because G-d had given Abraham a new heart and the Spirit, and thus he automatically lived a righteous life.

Yet before Mount Sinai, at Elim and Marah, G-d gave the people of Israel a pointer that something was wrong with them or their faith

Exodus 15: 22-27 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 5 And he cried unto HaShem; and HaShem showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of HaShem thy G-d, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am HaShem that healeth thee. 27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Our brethren should have honestly admitted that it was impossible for them to behave according to G-d’s will. Yet, they did not admit that they were under a constraint to sin. Thus, G-d was forced to give them commandments, and the commandments should have shown our brethren that their life did not please G-d. The issue was probably not any lacking will to keep the commandments, but their character or essence was completely different from G-d’s character, and they lacked his beneficial communion in their hearts. They were to understand that the issue was just their natural character, not single details of their behaviour – they had needed a fundamental change or transformation, but they adhered to mere superficial maculation.

Had they yet asked Moses about the meaning of the Passover lamb (Yeshua; back then, simply called “HaShem“), the sweeping of the leaven (that means the “sweeping” of sin through the releasing power of HaShem), the tree which made sweet the waters of Marah, the twelve wells in midst of the desert (wells in the desert are an outrageous miracle and would make a normal man wondering – but our brethren did not wonder about that amazing wells or deliberately suppressed their questions).

Couldn’t it be that the flesh of the Passover represented our flesh (sinful nature) which is not able to live as it pleases G-d and therefore must be destroyed (our nature is even so sinful that we sin more instead of less when one gives us commandments; the attraction of sin becomes stronger when commands are given to us – outrageous)? But who is able to kill the sinful nature which we have inherited from the fallen Adam? Note that the direct (without a sacrificial lamb)killing of our sinful nature would also mean our physical death (!) because we are very strongly grown together with the sin. First, when we had “vaporized”, the sin would have been disappeared because we are outright sinners. Even our deepest and truest self and our ego and will are affected by sin.

Our brethren trekked through the Read Sea, and when they arrived at the other side, they had got into a new life – now, G-d (Yeshua) in the fiery, cloudy pillar accompanied them. The march trough the Read Sea had made a divorce between their old life in Egypt and their new life on the way to the Promised Land. But at first, that was a mere outward affair. We know that our brethren had stayed in Egypt regarding their hearts (in their hearts they turned to Egypt again).

But, dear reader, what would hinder us today to be more clever than our descendants?

Did G-d want to show us through the slaughtering of the Passover lamb that also our sinful flesh must be killed, and didn’t he want to show us through the march through the Read Sea that we need a new life, that G-d himself wants to be our life? When G-d himself is our life, then we will automatically keep his commandments. When the law-giver lives in us and through us, then we will even fullfill the law which is much more than to keep the law.

As long as our brethren “were pure natural flesh” the life with G-d was as bitter for them like the waters of Mara, but a tree could make these waters sweet. The G-d who lets us see a tree before we plunge into him or receive him within us must be a G-d with whom together one can lead a “sweet” live.

In Elim there were twelve sweet wells (wells of freshwater) and seventy palm trees. Couldn’t be meant certain human beings by the wells and the palm trees which had got to know the G-d of the tree which made the water sweet (fresh) and became themselves sweet (fresh) wells, happy people and fruitful trees?

Tehillim 87: 7 As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

And when our sinful flesh is killed through the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, something bitter remains. G-d doesn’t want to use violence against us meaning that we have a completely free will (God will never violate our free will). Even though our sinful nature was declared dead, we as free personality are still there, and to that belongs our sinful body or flesh. The “bitter herbs” mean our sinful body. We have to overcome our sinful flesh through faith in G-d’s Passover lamb.

Yeschayahu 53

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

When the Temple of G-d in Jerusalem did still stand, our descendants presented their little children to HaShem, and if our descendants were pious and faithful, then their little children were blessed with the death of the Passover lamb which has died in place of them – and the power of their sinful nature was broken (not in a magic-mechanical way, but their sinful nature was declared dead; only if the presented child would by free will use the power of regeneration bestowed upon him or her, he or she would really overcome). The Passover lamb must be a divine being because only a divine person has the capability to carry the sinful nature of another person into the death.

The Romans destroyed our Temple in the year 70 A. D. The question raises how we today can get into G-d’s presence in order to “die” and to get a new life at the same time. How is this possible despite the fact that our Temple has perished.

Yichezkel 36: 23-28 

23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Have you, dear reader, yet been sprinkled with that sacred water?

Only if you turn to G-d, believe in his Passover lamb, and if you get sprinkled with that holy water, then G-d will be your G-d for ever.

One can be sprinkled with that sacred water only once. Avoid people who presume they could repeat that sacred sprinkling – that is a severe sin before the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The marvellous Passover lamb – much more than an animal, even ingenious

Once, man experienced a fall. Since then, man has a strong inclination to sin.

Important: our inclination to sin is that strongly connected with our natural personality that only through a fundamental transformation of our personality, we could get rid of our inclination to sin. Briefly: we are outright sinners; even the core of our character, our will or our ego, is deeply affected by sin. Even when we consider our deepest and trues self, we notice that we are outright sinners.

Yet, there is a problem: if God would simply transform us – he would certainly be able to do that – our personality would be annihilated. If God would simply transform us, that would be equal to our destruction. After such an transformation, we simply would no longer be ourselves but another being meaning that we as beings which we were before transformation had disappeared.

Therefore, God was forced to look for an alternative (he wanted to preserve us).

How could he free us from sin without destroying the core of our character or us ourselves – how could he avoid the annihilation of our personality?

Thank God, God had an ingenious idea.

It works as follows.

If we want (see “The rebirth”, below), we get connected with a divine person (if we really had an inkling how loveable and decent the divine persons of the Christian Godhead are, we would never trade their communion for anything else – the communion of a divine person just means life, life in fullness).

The divine act of freeing us from sin (the rebirth) consists in connecting us with a divine person. Objectively seen, after that divine act, a divine person dwells within us. Though, after the rebirth, a divine person dwells in us, our natural man or our deepest and truest self remains intact – there is no annihilation, not even any constraint of our free will. The divine person with which we are connected does not intend to rule over us in a brute manner but wants to help us in a very kind manner. You can describe this divine person as a personified elixir vitae or medicine. Luther called Jesus Christ the “heavenly medicine” – that gives us an adequate notion of Jesus Christ.

God does not infringe the core of our personality, but we can voluntarily cling to the divine person with which we are connected through the rebirth. In a certain sense, we are the same persons after the rebirth which we have been before the rebirth, but one thing has crucially changed. Though, our natural sinfulness is still there, we are no longer under an absolute constraint to sin. If we cling to the divine person which dwells within us through the rebirth, we can overcome our sinfulness. That’s an ongoing miracle: outright sinners increasingly behave like saints because they are wrapped in Christ.

There may be heretics which reduce Christ’s sacrifice to a mere atonement for our sins, but in fact, it was much more. I claim that Christ’s death on the cross had not been necessary only for the purpose of  providing an atonement. If God had simply spoken, “your sins are forgiven”, apart from any sacrifice, it had been true and valid. Yet, forgiveness without change is very unsatisfying.

Imagine, one of your children had taken something out of the pantry without your permission (maybe, a jar of jam). Of course, you could simply forgive him that – who should hinder you to do that? – without requiring any change (no more stealing of jars of jam). But if you are a normal person, you will require also change when your child asks for forgiveness. At least, you want your child to tell you that he will never steal jam out of the pantry again – and then you forgive.

In the real world, forgiveness without repentance does not exist. Imagine a criminal who repeats his crime – after that, he will be punished again but more severe (even the profane society punishes it when somebody is not ready to change or to accept correction). A pure forgiveness without repentance or change only exists in the sick imagination of the brain-dead cheap-grace-Protestants or in the imagination of the brain-dead Evangelicals. They will face a rude awakening at Judgement Day because at Judgement Day they will have to notice that God has not forgiven them only one single sin.

Conclusion:

As forgiveness must always come along with repentance and change, God created the concept of a sacrifice (sacrificial lamb or marvellous Passover lamb). If we cling to the divine person who was sacrificed for us, we don’t have to experience destruction. Remember, we are that grown together with sin that God had to destroy us if he wanted to perfectly purify us from sin directly – apart from any sacrificial lamb. First, when we had completely “vaporized”, our sin had disappeared – outrageous.

The mystery of the sacrificial lamb or marvellous Passover lamb

When Christ died on the cross, we have died together with him (provided that we are sacramentally baptized). Of course, only a divine person could take with him the whole mankind into his death – neither an ordinary man could do that nor any lousy animal (lamb). Bottom line, Jesus death on the cross and his resurrection was a divine staging for our sake – of course, it was all reality; don’t get me wrong. A divine staging is distinct from any human staging (theatrical performance). A human staging only provides information through words and scenes, but when a divine staging takes place, we get touched in a supernatural way – we receive much more than mere information. The place where God speaks to us in a divine manner is the sacramental baptism – don’t expect God to speak to you at any place.

When God sacrificed his Son on the cross, he burnt us in our capacity as sinners without burning us as a whole – how ingenious: we in our capacity as sinners have died (burned up like a Passover lamb in ancient times; just imagine the burning of a real lamb on the altar right now), but nevertheless we still live – incredible. That is made possible through the divine person who died and rose for  us.

Only the death of an extremely high person could cause the blessing which spares us from annihilation. If we believe in Christ, and if we are sacramentally baptized (that is the rebirth or the regeneration), we can live that freed from the sin as if we had been destroyed (yet, if we had really been destroyed, how should we act any longer? – that was just the issue for which God found a solution).

Summary:

If it would be all about forgiveness and nothing else, no sacrifice or no marvellous Passover lamb had been necessary. Yet, God wants us to get changed. Therefore, a sacrificial lamb is necessary.

By the way, the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice goes even further. It is not only about our redemption, but it plays a crucial role in the “intergalactic” war between good and evil. Evil always imputes that God is greedy for honour, power and riches or himself evil. Through his incarnation (the Son of God was not greedy to be in the form of God but readily became man) and life of obedience up to the death on the cross, Jesus proved that God is not greedy for honour, power, and riches but very meek and very humble. God, the Son, took the cup of sorrow out of the hands of God, the Father – consider that Jesus was in a way the personified heart of the Father. Jesus Christ could have accused the Father which terrible fate he gave him (when the man Jesus was in the garden Gethsemane, he really asked God if he could be spared of the crucifixion but finally accepted the will of the Father and the will of his divine nature, Christ), but he did not do that. Jesus Christ, God, the Son, accepted the will of the father despite the fact that it meant suffering; that shows that God is a meek and humble lamb. Do you understand the wit of that, dear reader? The wit is that if the Father had incarnated, he had behaved like the Son because Jesus was in a way the personified heart of the Father. We can conclude that the Father is as meek and humble as Jesus.

Plainly and clearly: when God took the cup of sorrow out of the hands of God, he proved that God is very meek and very humble.

Since Jesus has died on the cross, nobody can claim any longer that God would be greedy for power, honour and riches like a monotheistic God. Since Jesus death, it is absolutely certain that the Christian God, the triune God, is good. Christians have a good God.

 

The rebirth

There is a certain point in space and time when we get connected with a divine person, Christ or the Holy Spirit: the sacramental baptism.

The true rebirth is clearly defined: sacramental baptism.

(after you have been baptized, you can be absolutely sure that you are born from above)

Don’t look for God in the wilderness or on any mountaintop but seek a place where is some water and bring along a person who is ready to baptize you.

This person should believe in Christ. This person also should regard baptism as the rebirth out of Water and Spirit or the regeneration for the remission of sins. Furthermore, this person should believe that the Christian God is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which are perfectly united in the Godhead, and though every divine person being a real own person – they are voluntarily united and voluntarily have an agreed acting and revelation to man. The baptism should be accomplished because of Christ’s institution.

Through baptism, you have died for the sin and get into Christ. Through that two facts of salvation, you can overcome your natural sinfulness and love God and your neighbour. Consider that Christian love is often very distinct from human imaginations of love.

Baptism is by no means a mere symbolic act, but God acts during baptism. The person to be baptized is handed over to God who regenerates him or her.

 

Note

Only when we repent and believe in Jesus, baptism becomes effective. Yet though repentance and faith in Jesus are necessary, the most crucial thing is the sacramental baptism. The actual rebirth is the sacramental baptism. We don’t need to seek for further spiritual experiences after baptism but should simply try to be obedient through the releasing power of baptism or the realising power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. When we overcome through the power of baptism, we believe.

 

Addition

Don’t make a mistake: it is not all about overcoming sin, but the life of a believer should also have a positive aspect (remember that there are two facts of salvation; we have not only died for the sin, but we are also in Christ, or he is in us since the rebirth). The more we grow in Christ, the more we will voluntarily act according to his will – we will become more and more Christ-like. As Christ-like people we don’t want to live isolated in our “cave” made of concrete (city-apartment), but we will look for the communion with other believers (of course, if there are no other believers at our residence we are regrettably forced to be “cave dwellers”). Having merry communion with other believers is one of the crucial visible characteristics through which a believer is distinguished from an unbeliever. All communities of that profane world are in fact pseudo-communities (the members of that groups have no real communion or fellowship) because they are not kept together through the Holy Spirit but their community bases on any hierarchical structure (there is any small cadre who sets the agenda and gives orders to the ordinary members of the group). I would never trade the merry communion of the Church for the pseudo-community of any worldly group.

The positive aspect includes also the mission of unbelievers (God offers salvation to everybody, independent from his social status). The Church will not ignore those people who are marginalized by the profane world: poor people, sick people, delinquents, foreigners, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was Moses a murderer?

A modern theologian interpreting the Bible would certainly conclude that Moses was a murderer. That would fortify him in his belief that the grace of God is cheap: Jesus has paid the bill in advance through his death on the cross; therefore, we can do as we please. Because Jesus has borne our guilt when he died for us on the cross, God is bound to forgive us.

There will be a rude awakening for modern theologians and their adherents at Judgement Day. They will notice that God has forgiven them nothing at all because they did not appreciate his grace through a life in sanctification (“sanctification” means an overcoming of the personal sin through the releasing power of Jesus’ death and resurrection). Only the “costly grace” leads to the forgiveness of all our sins.

Because the total content of the Bible supports the doctrine of the “costly grace”, it doesn’t seem to be plausible that Moses, the great prophet of God, had committed a murder under the premise that God would certainly forgive that. There must be a forensic justification for the killing of the Egyptian by Moses.

Exodus 2

1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. 5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. 6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children. 7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it. 10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water. 11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. 13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? 14 And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. 15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. 20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. 22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. 23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Two factors are crucial for the correct interpretation of that section of the Bible. First, we have to notice that Moses belonged to the Egyptian authority because the daughter of Pharaoh had adopted him. Moses was an Egyptian prince; though, he was a biological descendant of the Patriarch Jacob and consequently a Jew. As a member of the Egyptian authority, Moses had a right to judge. Secondly, we have to consider for what reason Moses killed the Egyptian (we have to consider the motive of Moses). Moses had no base motives for the killing of the Egyptian (motives like avarice, revenge, greed for power, religious-fanatical presumption, etc.), but it was a kind of summary court (or summary court martial) on the criminal Egyptian. Moses revenged his Israelite (Jewish) brother on the Egyptian.

Related to modern standards, Moses acted very strictly when he killed the Egyptian without hesitation, but in principle, it was very honourable and laudable that Moses supported the cause of his brother who had almost been killed unjustly (he was smitten by the Egypt) and at it also put his own life at stake.

Moses did not fear any punishment by God for his deed but the prosecution by Pharaoh. However, Pharaoh was an anti-divine tyrant and did not act according to God’s concept. Pharaoh’s rule over Egypt was a pseudo-rule – it was exceedingly unjust and evil how he abused the people of Israel. In fact, Pharaoh himself was a criminal despite the fact that he was the leader of the Egyptian authority.

(an authority according to God’s will shall not commit crimes but punish the evildoers; the Egyptian authority was perverted because it abused the people of Israel which was an extreme crime)

See Exodus 1

Eventually, the abuse of the people of Israel through Pharaoh and the Egyptians was a declaration of war against the Jews who lived in Egypt. God gave them Moses as leader (prince, king) to deliver them from the slavery of Pharaoh. At first, the Jews did not realize that Moses was their leader, but that is another story.

In the further course of Exodus, we also see that God never reproached Moses with the killing of the Egyptian. On the contrary, God appointed Moses again as leader of the people of Israel.

See Exodus 3

Let us also consider Acts 7: 17-35

Speech of Stephen

17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, 18 Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph. 19 The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live. 20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months: 21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. 23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: 25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. 26 And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? 27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday? 29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons. 30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the LORD came unto him, 32 Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. 33 Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.´34 I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. 35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.

Conclusion:

Moses was by no means a murderer but a divine prophet. The Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had sent Moses to deliver His people from the slavery of Egypt. Moses acted according to God’s will when he executed the evil Egyptian.

What is the difference between Moses and Muhammad?

Muhammad was not sent by God, and therefore every time when Muhammad killed somebody or put to death somebody it was an unjust murder. Muhammad killed forensically innocent people (he shed innocent blood) only because they did not want to believe his made-up nonsense which he called Islam. Muhammad was an extreme sinner (he killed innocent people) and will get the following sentence at Judgement Day: eternal stay and torture in a lake which burns with fire and sulphur; there, he will encounter modern theologians, Evangelicals (rechristen), the popes which came after Gregory the Great, who was the last good bishop of Rome, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abraham and his faith, according to the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament

At first, Abraham lived in the country Chaldea or Mesopotamia (Genesis 11: 27-32) whose culture was coined by Nimrod, the warrior. Once, Nimrod wanted to build a great city (Babylon) with a huge tower meaning that he was greedy for power, honour and riches. But God set bounds to Nimrod’s ambition (confusion of tongues; Genesis 11: 1-9); nevertheless, the culture of Chaldea was decisively negatively coined by Nimrod. At the time of Abraham when Abraham yet lived in Canaan (today, Palestine), five kings of Canaan were attacked by several kings of Mesopotamia only because they did not want to be subject to them. Obviously, still at Abrahams time, the Nimrod-culture prevailed in Mesopotamia. In Mesopotamia, the law of the strongest was applicable law: the most savage won through. The Mesopotamians were actually the descendants of Shem, who was pious like Abraham. However, they did not keep the faith of Shem but allowed Nimrod to betray them into apostasy.

Abraham behaves quite different from his kinsmen. He does not invade Canaan as a warlord like the kings mentioned above but gets there as a harmless cattle breeder. Abraham doesn’t represent savageness or imperiousness but meekness and humbleness, which were fruits of his faith.

Abraham really had got the capabilities of a great warlord – he gave proof of his capabilities as warrior when he delivered his nephew Lot out of the force of the Mesopotamian kings mentioned above. Maybe, Abraham had been a “lansquenet” when he still lived in Chaldea. At the latest, after God had called him (Genesis 12: 1-3), he no longer wanted to work as a soldier. He took up the profession of a cattle breeder. Certainly, the Chaldeans and the Canaanites shed a lot of innocent blood, and by no means Abraham could take part in that after God had called him.

Certainly, Abraham bore in mind the commandment which God had yet given to Noah (Genesis 9: 5-7):

5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. 7 And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.

If Abraham really worked as a soldier in Chaldea, then maybe, one day, that commandment of God had hit him and he got aware of his guilt before God. Then, God called him.

Anyway, Abraham changed completely through God’s call. Later, God gave Abraham a very good testimonial, Genesis 26: 4-5:

4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Abraham’s faith was connected with practical righteousness – it is no coincidence that still today, Abraham is famous as a righteous among the nations. Not only God gave Abraham a very good testimonial but even the whole mankind. Except Jesus, probably nobody has ever received more honour through the mankind than Abraham.

Of course, Abraham knew the “primeval gospel” which is yet to be found in the Old Testament (Tanakh). He knew the story of Abel, who sacrificed lambs (a type of the sacrificial lamb Jesus); the story of Noah, who built altars in order to sacrifice on them; and certainly the story of the Ark and the Flood (the Ark as a type for the baptism). Certainly, Abraham understood that he needed a means of transport like the Ark to get from that was what old to that what was new. God called Abraham through telling him that he should emigrate from Chaldea to Canaan. The pressure of the anti-divine regime in Chaldea must have been unbearable. Probably, it was impossible for Abraham to live in Chaldea without denying his piety.

Time and again, Abraham when he still was in Chaldea escaped from the noise and the bustling activity of Chaldea. He took his time for contemplation:

God had saved Noah and his relatives out of the old, sinful society by the Ark, and the whole old world perished in the Flood. After that, God had sworn that no further flood should come. Yet, meanwhile, at the time of Abraham, the society was yet again very corrupted. How could God save Abraham without a new ark and a new flood? God revealed to Abraham that he would give him an own country and make him a great people.

Abraham knew that Sarah was infertile, but he did not consider that but that what God had revealed to him, and he started for Canaan and moved there. The move of Abraham to Canaan was tantamount with the going into the Ark by Noah. Today, it would mean that somebody who considers the gospel as true gets himself baptized (but no rebaptism) or remembers his eventual infant baptism. Abel, Noah and Abraham knew that they needed a sacrificial lamb for redemption and forgiveness of their sins, but they also knew that that knowledge alone could give them no power to overcome, and that they needed to get touched by God in a sacral way.

Abraham did not want to become rich in the country of the merchants, Chaldea, but preferred to suffer hardship as a primitive nomad and thus to preserve his piety in that way. Certainly, the Chaldeans abused their military power in order to exploit other peoples – to take part in that, Abraham could not have reconciled with his conscience, which was renewed through God’s call.

It was not the case that Abraham had only to accept God’s promises as true, and everything fulfilled immediately, but Abraham had to keep his trust or faith for a long, long time until God’s promises came to fulfilment. Thus, Abrahams faith was not of temporary nature (more than a rational affirmation), but solidly implanted because God had transformed Abraham. This transformation probably took place when God talked with Abraham first time and called him out of Chaldea (Genesis 12: 1-3). This call was sacral because it was God, who called. Abraham received power from above – he became able to believe, in a deeper meaning. God’s Word had created something new.

Excursus concerning the real faith

What is a faith which means more than merely accepting something as true?

That is the faith through which we overcome our natural sinfulness, which we have biologically inherited from the fallen Adam. This faith emerges when God makes real faith out of our mere accepting something as true through a divine act (today, sacramental baptism). Through God’s call, we die together with the real Passover lamb, and live in him because a divine Passover lamb can only “temporally die” (how should a divine being die?). Imagine how a Passover lamb burnt on the altar and simply think that heap of flesh which burns is your sinful flesh. Of course, that heap of flesh which burns doesn’t become your sinful flesh through your imagination or even faith or power of your thoughts, but through the fact that God declared the burning of the divine Passover lamb to be the burning of your flesh. Through God, the Spirit, Joshua was sacrificed on the “altar” Christ – this took place when Jesus Christ died on the cross. Of course, in a certain sense, Jesus Christ could not die because he was divine – only his human nature, Jesus, could die. Thus, Jesus death and resurrection took place for our sake – it was, of course, reality but in a certain sense a divine staging for our sake. As well as we have died with him, we have resurrected with him according to divine decree. When we get baptized, it becomes valid for us through divine mediation (by the Holy Spirit) that we have died and resurrected together with Jesus. Baptism is the real rebirth and regeneration. Through the releasing power of baptism, we can overcome our natural sinfulness.

End of Excursus

Abraham had to abandon his existence in Chaldea and to go to Canaan. Today, that would correspond to a sacramental baptism (of course, baptism only becomes effective if we repent and believe). The place where we patiently wait for the fulfilment of God’s promises is the Christian Church. We become a member of the Church through baptism.

Though, Abraham believed God’s promise that he would give him an own country, and that he would make him an own people, Abraham had to live as a primitive nomad without property in Canaan and had at first no children. The landless Abraham could be grateful that he could stay in the grove of Mamre, the Amorite. Abraham was indeed an “Abraham without land”.

Abrahams faith was practically a keeping of faith. Note: until his 100th year of age not only one of God’s promises came to fulfilment – as long as, Abraham had to wait patiently for the fulfilment of the promise and had to keep hope. Abraham got the promise before his 75th year of age – thus, he had to wait 25 years (!) until Isaac was borne.

When God called Abraham the first time (Genesis 12: 1-3), God implanted the faith into Abraham. Thus, Abraham’s faith was sacral – God had transformed him or something done with him.

Everything Abraham accomplished he accomplished in the power of God’s call. The equivalent to that today would be the sacramental baptism (including infant baptism) – baptism becomes effective when somebody repents and accepts the gospel as true. The “ongoing” faith means the permanent use of the releasing power of baptism. There is no need for additional spiritual experiences – baptism is fully sufficient. Of course, confession, Lord’s Supper and simple Christian communion are further means of grace through which God strengthens us, but baptism is the most fundamental gift of God. Abel, Noah and Abraham certainly knew that they needed a redeemer, and that he would come into this world one day. The offering of animals was only meaningful as type for Jesus’ sacrifice (Jesus was the real Passover lamb).

But the power to live a pious life they did not receive through the mere knowledge of a redeemer, but when God encountered them and talked to them and called them into his discipleship. Only God himself can give us the releasing power of the Lamb of God; our reason cannot grasp that. When God talks to somebody, then this are more than words, but there is force action. God’s words are more than mere information but have transforming power. No man, no Christian can speak such words, but that happens solely through the baptism which Christ instituted. There, we die for the sin and resurrect together with Jesus. God’s word to us is a divine being: Jesus Christ. The words of a human being are only sound waves or mere information, but the words of God are a divine person – that is quite a difference.

When we follow the life of Abraham (Genesis 12-25), we notice that he had got a living faith, a faith which caused active love. Several times, there were situations in his life when it became obvious that he really had got faith and which kind of faith he had.

 

Genesis 12: 1-3

God calls Abraham, and Abraham receives the real faith.

 

Genesis 12: 4 – 9

Abraham is obedient and gets to Canaan; God gives him testimonial: “I will give this country to your descendants.”

 

Genesis 13

Abraham’s faith manifests in his love to his nephew Lot; Abraham regards the will of Lot higher than his own will and left it to Lot to choose which portion of the country he wanted to get; God gives Abraham testimonial again (verses 14-18).

 

Genesis 14-15

Lot gets kidnapped by Mesopotamian kings; Abraham puts his own life at stake and delivers Lot out of the force of the Mesopotamians; God gives him testimonial again and confirms the promise (Genesis 15: 1-6)

 

Genesis 16-17

Abraham protects his wife Sarah against the maid Hagar; God gives Abraham testimonial again.

 

Genesis 17-18

Abraham is obedient and circumcises his whole house; God appears to him subsequently – God becomes visible as the triune God and announces the birth of Isaac which was at hand; the birth of Isaac was the beginning of the fulfilment of the promise of God to make Abraham a people.

 

Genesis 22

Abraham regards higher the fear of God, the love to God than everything else; God gives testimonial, and swears by himself that he will make Abraham a people and give him the country.

 

It becomes very clear that Abraham was nobody who used grace; but on the contrary, Abraham practiced love; Abraham had the faith which caused active love.

Abraham had never hit on an idea to award salvation to himself himself (alleged assurance of salvation), but by practicing his faith through love God increasingly confirmed Abraham’s salvation. God more and more awarded salvation to Abraham because Abraham kept the faith.

Modern “Christians” like it to take a verse of the Bible (for example, John 3: 16), and themselves award salvation to themselves. Maybe, they go so far to neglect their neighbour (workmate, next-door neighbour, relatives, members of the congregation, etc.) who is in need, reasoning their salvation would not depend on their works, and God had given them assurance of salvation through John 3: 16. Abraham did not think like that. Abraham was aware of his call, but because of this call he practiced love to his neighbour and was obedient to God and did not award assurance of salvation to himself. The longer Abraham kept the faith, the longer God gave testimonial that Abraham pleased him. It was God who gave Abraham assurance of salvation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The house which you can enter everywhere on earth – it is open for both Jews and Gentiles

Of course, this article refers to a marvellous house; though, the precursor of this house was a  house with only one single entrance and stood at a certain place.

Like God is present in the mentioned marvellous house you can enter everywhere, God was present in its precursor; a house with one single entrance at a certain place.

Though the precursor of the marvellous house had only one single entrance and stood at a certain place, it was nevertheless marvellous because God was also present there; God really dwelled in this house; though, he is actually that great that the heavens are called His throne and the earth the footstool of His feet. That means that it was a great grace of God to adorn a house made of earthly stones with His presence. Would you, dear reader, adorn a wormhole with you presence? How humble and gracious is the heavenly God to be ready to dwell in an earthly cottage.

By his own decree, God was in this house. Of course, we could always argue how the one whose throne are the heavens could dwell in an earthly house – yet, we don’t need to ponder on this. God declared the old Temple of Jerusalem His residence, and thus the Temple was his residence. Anyway, we will never be able to conceive God in his original form. The only thing we can conceive of God are revelations of Himself He wants to give us graciously. Everything we perceive of God is actually a revelation of Himself because He is simply to great and to different from us that we could perceive Him directly.

In ancient times, when you wanted to encounter God, you had to travel to Jerusalem, where the old Temple stood on the Temple Mount. Consider that in ancient times, it was not that easy for an Italian or Spaniard or any foreigner concerning Israel to travel to Jerusalem – such a travel meant to put in a lot of effort. Though, travelling in ancient times was much more exhausting than today, the people travelled – don’t let us assume that ancient people did not travel at all.

The marvellous house spares us of exhausting travelling – we can enter it everywhere and find God’s presence.

Let us solve the puzzle:

The marvellous house is the Christian Church, the new Temple of God. The new house of God is not made of stones but of human beings, Jews and Gentiles believing in Jesus Christ. Of course, one could say that the new house is made of living stones which would be according to the evidence of the New Testament.

When you hear the word church, you may think of any church building made of stones from the quarry or bricks or the like. Yet, the Christian Church consists of living people. God or his Spirit does not dwell in any church building made of ordinary stones even if it would be the largest and most beautiful cathedral on earth. The Holy Spirit is only present in a church building if the congregation is gathered there. Thus, when the congregation would gather in the wilderness or at any riverbank or in any cave and the like, yet the Spirit would be present.

Though, the presence of the Lord doesn’t depend on any building or outward condition, it is a tremendous affront against the Christian Church when Muslims destroy church buildings. Though, the Muslims destroy church buildings in Egypt, the Copts are no Christians because they have a wrong image of God which is not according to the evidence of the Bible. Though, the Muslims don’t distinguish between true Christians and heretics, the destruction of churches of the heretical Copts in Egypt is also an affront against true Christianity. Of course, Egyptian Muslims would also destroy church buildings of the true Church – how obsessed they are!

How can you enter the Church?

(Now comes one of the main points of this article)

One may assume he could encounter God everywhere or on mountaintops or in deserts or elsewhere. Of course, God is everywhere, but He has determined a certain place where we can encounter Him. Remember the ancient Temple and imagine the building (there was a concrete place with certain geographical coordinates where one could encounter God). We have to accept God’s will that He doesn’t want to encounter us anywhere or in one way or another but in an exactly determined way.

(maybe, God wants to preserve us from any delusion or demonical deceit; Muhammad, the false prophet of the Arabs, claimed that the angel Gabriel had appeared to him – yet, either Muhammad lied, or he actually experienced a manifestation of the devil who simulated an angel of light, Gabriel; it is thoroughly possible that Muhammad really saw or heard something, but when he really saw or heard something, we as Christians can say that it was the devil or any demon)

According to the evidence of the Bible, there are two separate spiritual spheres: the light and the darkness (metaphorical language) or the sphere of God and His angels and the sphere of the devil and his demons. We have no sense organ to distinguish both spheres. We can only distinguish the two spheres by determining if it is true and according to the evidence of the Bible what a “certain being tells us”. We can say that Muhammad was either a liar or victim of demonical deceit because Muhammad’s message was not according to the Bible; also not according to the older portion of the Bible alone, the ancient Holy Scripture, the Old Testament, the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible.

It is tiresome to speak about things we have no sense organ for; thus, let us simply go on the very safe side.

The very safe access to God’s presence is the sacramental baptism, the entrance to God’s new house or Temple. Sacramental baptism ensures that we don’t get into the presence of any demon or the devil but into God’s presence. If you seek access to God’s presence apart from sacramental baptism, it is absolutely sure that you will not get in touch with God but any demon or even the devil himself; though, the being you would encounter certainly would not introduce himself as evil demon but call himself “God” or the like. Somebody who doesn’t enter any house through its regular entrance but through any opening (for example, a window) must be somebody who doesn’t belong to the community dwelling in this house (maybe, a thief). Imagine the house of the company where you work: within this house, you would encounter somebody of whom you would know that he had infiltrated the house through any window. Ain’t I right when I assume that you as a faithful employee of your company would drive out that person immediately?

Now, you understand how the marvellous house can be entered everywhere – it is because everybody can be baptized everywhere, at any place on earth. You can travel to the heavenly Jerusalem at any place in your home country where is some water – you only need somebody who baptizes you correctly or properly. Of course, if you have yet been validly baptized as an infant, you should not be baptized again but refer to your infant baptism after you have experienced a spiritual awakening, which makes you looking for realising power to follow Jesus.

When somebody is sacramentally baptized, he has received the rebirth by the Lord, the eternal God, who has made heaven and earth, the God of Israel. It is one of the most important benefits of the true Christian faith that it provides a concrete point in space and time where somebody gets definitely born from above. A Christian can refer to his baptism throughout his life; he can always start all over again to reform his life through the releasing power of his baptism when he has become lax. Luther said that baptism is like a boat to which we always can swim back when we have dropped out of it.

(of course, baptism becomes only effective when we also repent and believe in Christ; yet, a correct celebrated baptism remains always valid, and can always be used if somebody wants to (re)start a Christian life; only if somebody deliberately renounces the Christian faith and if he regards the impact of the Holy Spirit as demonical, then he will lose the heavenly gift for ever; single occasional sins cannot harm our rebirth – but yet always take sin very severe)

“The only thing” we have to keep our mind on is that the baptism is a real baptism.

What is a real baptism?

This depends on three things:

  • the church who baptizes must do it because of Christ’s institution or command
  • the church who baptizes must consider baptism as the rebirth out of Water and Spirit, the regeneration, or as baptism for the remission of sins (correct intention)
  • the church must have the correct image of God (the Trinitarian Image of God)

The Trinitarian Image of God: one God in three  persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit which are perfectly united in the Godhead; nevertheless, there are three divine real persons, and every divine person has its own free will; yet, they constantly and voluntarily synchronize with each other so that outwardly they have an agreed acting and revelation to man; of course, there is never any argument within the Godhead because these three divine persons are that meek and humble that it cannot be worded – and there is a deep, deep peace on the Godhead; the peace of the Godhead is that deep that a giant stream of life-giving water constantly wants to burst out of the Godhead into the world, the Holy Spirit. Of course, that giant stream would really flow if we would not constantly hinder it through our lacking readiness to repent.

(of course, the outright and extreme sin of the present mankind blockades that stream at the moment, and thus this golden stream can hardly be perceived; my website maybe a little runlet which yet flows despite the blockade of the whole stream by the sinful mankind)

We see that God acts during baptism: He regenerates the person to be baptized.

The Church commits the person to be baptized to God. The invisible baptist is always God, and the Church merely celebrates the baptism. Therefore, a baptism is valid despite the sins and errors of a church; only if the error (heresy) of a church goes so far that even the image of God or the intention is affected, then a baptism is not valid because it was simply no Christian baptism but any nonsense.

A baptism is only a true baptism when the person to be baptized is baptized with the intention to commit him or her to God for the sake of rebirth or regeneration, and God must be imagined as the triune God as described above.

The triune God is the Christian God, and  therefore every true baptism can be called ecclesiastical or Christian baptism. A true baptism can also be called sacramental baptism which stresses the fact of God’s supernatural or sacral acting during baptism. Of course, also infants can be baptized if it would take place in a faithful surrounding, where God would cause the wonder that even an infant could yet believe (by the way, even if somebody is grown-up and has gained full mind, the faith is caused by the Holy Spirit; faith is not a matter of reason but of the Spirit; it is sacral or supernatural).

I personally favour the term “sacramental baptism” in order to distinguish it from the false evangelical baptism (believer’s baptism, rebaptism, symbolic baptism) which is a mere nothing and even harmful. Believer’s baptism is a very heavy crime. All groups practicing believer’s baptism are excluded from the Christian Church. By definition, the groups which practice believer’s baptism are called Evangelicals – evangelical believers will end up in eternal damnation. Evangelicals are no Christians at all but heretics or sectarians. Their leaders be cursed, and may God have mercy upon their ordinary members and lead them out to the true Church. The whole “faith” of the Evangelicals is delusion – they only talk about the heavenly goods which a true Christian really possesses.

 

Addition

You may see the new Temple of God as extension of the old Temple. Though, it was yet possible in ancient times for Gentiles to travel to Jerusalem and to worship the God of Israel at the Temple, the vast majority of them remained in apostasy. The Temple made of ordinary stones was fully sufficient for that little people Israel during the time when the most worshippers of God were Jews, and nearly all Gentiles remained in apostasy. At the time when the Temple made of ordinary stones was about to be abolished things turned: the vast majority of the Jews rejected the Christian faith and a lot of Gentiles accepted it. Thus, the Temple of Jerusalem expanded all over the world and changed its outward form at the same time. The Temple made of ordinary stones became a Temple made of living stones which is accessible at every place of the world.

Dear reader,

you may have started to believe in Christ, but in your home country, there is no church or any single Christian who could baptize you. Let me tell you the following: the validity of any baptism doesn’t depend much on the spiritual condition of the person who celebrates the baptism so that even a person who is not yet baptized can baptize you; you only have to give him the information you have read in this article here, and he has to agree with you that he wants to baptize you according to the instructions you have found here in this article – then, everything is fine, and God will give you the regeneration. Though, the person who is ready to baptize you doesn’t have to be baptized at any rate, he should at least have repented and put his trust in the Lord as far as this is possible without baptism – however, every grown-up person starts with that small faith which is not much more than merely assuming the gospel to be true. Through baptism, our small faith is sealed and becomes the real faith: as baptized people, we are able to overcome our natural sinfulness through the realising power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Through baptism, we die and resurrect together with Jesus. Through baptism, we have died for the sin and have a new life in Jesus; through baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tanakh (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament) provides evidence that Jesus from Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah

The messiahship of Jesus Christ is only one of several issues which Luther has treated in his more extensive work “On the Jews and Their Lies”; I have just adopted the headings of the sections of Luther’s work which I chose in connection with the subject of the messiahship of Jesus Christ. You, dear reader, may not be disturbed by the strange sounding title of Luther’s work. Luther was indeed as the title of his work suggests a little hostile to the Jews (I say that despite the fact that I am basically an outright fan of Luther, regarding him as one of the greatest teachers of Christianity); nevertheless, Luther’s thoughts concerning the messiahship of Jesus Christ rest upon the evidence of the Bible. Luther cherished the Bible, and thus he provided a high-quality work providing the evidence for the messiahship of Jesus despite the fact that he was a little too angry with them (yet, his anger had nothing to do with the anger of the German Nazis which was of pure pagan nature, but Luther’s anger had something to do with the spiritual enmity between the Church and the Jews who are stubborn – yet as I have already said Luther carried it a little too far).

(from the treatise of Dr. Martin Luther: “On the Jews and Their lies”, 1543 A. D.)

On the Jews and Their Lies, Part IV

First we want to submit the verse found in Genesis 49:10: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah… until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” This saying of the holy patriarch Jacob, spoken at the very end of his life, has been tortured and crucified in many ways down to the present day by the modern, strange Jews, in violation of their own conscience. For they realize fully that their twisting and perverting is nothing but wanton mischief. Their glosses remind me very much of an evil, stubborn shrew who clamorously contradicts her husband and insists on having the last word although she knows she is in the wrong. Thus these blinded people also suppose that it suffices to bark and to prattle against the text and its true meaning; they are entirely indifferent to the fact that they are lying impudently. I believe they would be happier if this verse had never been written rather than that they should change their mind. This verse pains them intensely, and they cannot ignore it.

The ancient, true Jews understood this verse correctly, as we Christians do, namely, that the government or scepter should remain with the tribe of Judah until the advent of the Messiah; then “to him shall be the obedience of the peoples,” to him they will adhere. That is, the scepter shall then not be confined to the tribe of Judah, but, as the prophets later explain, it shall be extended to all peoples on earth at the time of the Messiah. However, until he appears, the scepter shall remain in that small nook and corner, Judah. That, I say, is the understanding of the prophets and of the ancient Jews; this they cannot deny. For also their Chaldaean Bible, which they dare oppose as little as the Hebrew Bible itself, shows this clearly.

In translation it reads thus: “The shultan shall not be put away from the house of Judah nor the saphra from his children’s children eternally until the Messiah comes, whose is the kingdom, and the peoples will make themselves obedient to him.” This is a true and faithful translation of the Chaldaean text, as no Jew or devil can deny.

For Moses’ Hebrew term shebet [“scepter”] we use the word Zepter in German, whereas the Chaldaean translator chooses the word shultan. Let us explain these words. The Hebrew shebet is the designation for a virga; it is really not a rod in the usual sense, for this term suggests to the German the thought of birch switches with which children are punished. Nor is it a staff used by invalids and the aged for walking. But it designates a mace held upright, such as a judge holds in his hand when he acts in his official capacity. As luxury increased in the world, this mace was made of silver or of gold. Now it is called a scepter, that is, a royal rod. Skeptron is a Greek word, but it has now been taken up into the German language. In his first book, Homer describes his King Achilles as having a wooden scepter adorned with small silver nails. From this we learn what scepters originally were and how they gradually came to be made entirely of silver and gold. In brief, it is the rod, whether of silver, wood, or gold, carried by a king or his representative. It symbolizes nothing other than do minion or kingdom. Nobody questions this.

To make it very clear: the Chaldaean translator does not use the word shebet, mace or scepter; but he substitutes the person who bears this rod, saying shultan, indicating that a prince, lord, or king shall not depart from the house of Judah; there shall be a sultan in the house of Judah until the Messiah comes. “Sultan” is also a Hebrew term, and a word well known to us Christians, who have waged war for more than six hundred years against the sultan of Egypt, and have gained very little to show for it. For the Saracens (Muslim Arabs; R. B.) call their king or prince “sultan,” that is, lord or ruler or sovereign. From this the Hebrew word schilt is derived, which has become a thoroughly German word (Schild [“shield”]). It is as though one wished to say that a prince or lord must be his subjects’ shield, protection, and defense, if he is to be a true judge, sultan, or lord, etc. Some people even try to trace the German term Schultheiss [“village mayor”] back to the word “sultan”; I shall not enter into this.

saphra is the same as the Hebrew sopher (for Chaldee and Hebrew are closely related, indeed they are almost identical, just as Saxons and Swabians both speak German, but still there is a great difference). The word sopher we commonly translate into the German by means of Kanzler [“chancellor”]. Everyone, including Burgensis, translates the word saphra with scriba or scribe. These people are called scribes in the Gospel. They are not ordinary scribes who write for wages or without official authority. They are sages, great rulers, doctors and professors, who teach, order, and preserve the law in the state. I suppose that it also encompasses the chancelleries, parliaments, councillors, and all who by wisdom and justice aid in governing. That is what Moses wishes to express with the word mehoqeq, which designates one who teaches, composes, and executes commands and decrees. Among the Saracens, for instance, the sultan’s scribes or secretaries, his doctors, teachers, and scholars, are those who teach, interpret, and preserve the Koran as the law of the land. In the papacy the pope’s scribes or saphra are the canonists or jackasses who teach and preserve his decretals and laws. In the empire the doctores legum, the secular jurists, are the emperor’s saphra or scribes who teach, administer, and preserve the imperial laws.

Thus Judah, too, had scribes who taught and preserved the law of Moses, which was the law of the land. Therefore we have translated the word mehoqeq with “master,” that is, doctor, teacher, etc. So this passage, “The mehoqeq, i.e., master, will not be taken from between his feet,” means that teachers and listeners who sit at their feet will remain in an orderly government. For every country, if it is to endure, must have these two things: power and law. The country, as the saying goes, must have a lord, a head, a ruler. But it must also have a law by which the ruler is guided. These are the mace and the mehoqeq, or sultan and saphra. Solomon indicates this also, for when he had received the rod, that is, the kingdom, he prayed only for wisdom so that he might rule the people justly (I Kings 3). For wherever sheer power prevails without the law, where the sultan is guided by his arbitrary will and not by duty, there is no government, but tyranny, akin to that of Nero, Caligula, Dionysius, Henry of Brunswick, and their like. Such does not endure long. On the other hand, where there is law but no power to enforce it, there the wild mob will also do its will and no government can survive. Therefore both must be present: law and power, sultan and saphra, to supplement one another.

Thus the councillors who gathered in Jerusalem and who were to come from the tribe of Judah were the saphra; the Jews called them the Sanhedrin. Herod, a foreigner, an Edomite, did away with this, and he himself became both sultan and saphra, mace and mehoqeq in the house of Judah, lord and scribe. Then the saying of the patriarch began to be fulfilled that Judah was no longer to retain the government or the saphra. Now it was time for the Messiah to come and to occupy his kingdom and sit on the throne of David forever, as Isaiah 9:6] prophesies. Therefore let us now study this saying of the patriarch.

“Judah,” he declares, “your brothers shall praise you,” etc. [Gen. 49:8]. This, it seems to me, requires no commentary; it states clearly enough that the tribe of Judah will be honored above all of his brothers and will enjoy the prerogative. The text continues: “Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies,” etc. This also declares plainly that the famous and prominent tribe of Judah must encounter enemies and opposition, but that all will end successfully and victoriously for it. We continue: “Your father’s sons shall bow down before you,” etc. Again it is clear that this does not refer to the captivity but to the rule over his brothers, all of which was fulfilled in David. But not only did the tribe of Judah, in David, become lord over his brothers; he also spread his rule beyond, like a lion, forcing other nations into submission; for instance the Philistines, the Syrians, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites.

This is what he praises in these beautiful words [Gen. 49:9]: “Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as a lioness; who dares to rise up against him? This is to say that he was enthroned and established a kingdom which no one could overwhelm, though the adjacent nations frequently and mightily tried to do so.

All right, up to this point the patriarch has established, ordained, and confirmed the kingdom, the sultan, the rod, the saphra in the tribe of Judah. There Judah, the sultan, sits enthroned for his rule. What is to happen now? This, he says: He shall remain thus until the Messiah comes; that is, many will oppose him, at tempting to overthrow and destroy the kingdom and simply make it disappear from the earth. The histories of the kings and the prophets amply testify that all the Gentile nations ever earnestly strove to do this. And the patriarch himself declares, as we heard before, that Judah must have its foes. For such is the course of events in the world that wherever a kingdom or principality rises to a position of might, envy will not rest until it is destroyed. All of history illustrates this with numerous examples.

However, in this instance the Holy Spirit states: This kingdom in the tribe of Judah is mine, and no one shall take it from me, no matter how angry and mighty he may be, even if the gates of hell should try. The words will still prove true: Non auferetur, “It shall not be taken away.” You devils and Gentiles may say: Auferetur, we shall put an end to it, we shall devour it, we shall silence it, as Psalm 74 bemoans. But it shall remain undevoured, undevastated. “The shebet or sultan shall not depart from the house of Judah, nor the saphra from his children’s children,” until the shiloh or Messiah comes—no matter how you all rant and rage.

And when he does appear, the kingdom will become far different and still more glorious. For since you would not tolerate the tribe of Judah in a little, narrow corner, I shall change him into a truly strong lion who will become sultan and saphra in all the world. I will do this in such a way that he will not draw a sword nor shed a drop of blood, but the nations will voluntarily and gladly submit themselves to him and obey him. Such shall be his kingdom. For after all, the kingdom and all things are his.

Approach the text, both Chaldaean and Hebrew, with this understanding and this thought, and I wager that your heart together with the letters will surely tell you: By God! that is the truth, that is the patriarch’s meaning. And then consult the histories to ascertain whether this has not happened and come to pass in this way and still continues to do so. Again you will be compelled to say: It is verily so. For it is undeniable that the sultan and saphra remained with the tribe of Judah until Herod’s time, even if it was at times feeble and was not maintained without the opposition of mighty foes. Nevertheless, it was preserved. Under Herod and after Herod, however, it fell into ruin and came to an end. It was so completely destroyed that even Jerusalem, once the throne-seat of the tribe of Judah, and the land of Canaan were wiped out. Thus the verse was fulfilled which said that the sultan has departed and the Messiah has come.

I do not have the time at present to demonstrate what a rich fountainhead this verse is and how the prophets drew so much information from it concerning the fall of the Jews and the election of the Gentiles, about which the modern Jews and bastards know nothing at all. But we have clearly and forcefully seen from this verse that the Messiah had to come at the time of Herod. The alternative would be to say that God failed to keep his promise and, consequently, lied. No one dare do that save the accursed devil and has servants, the false bastards and strange Jews. They do this incessantly. In their eyes God must be a liar. They claim that they are right when they assert that the Messiah has not yet come, despite the fact that God declared in very plain words that the Messiah would come before the scepter had entirely departed from Judah. And this scepter has been lost to Judah for almost fifteen hundred years now. The clear words of God vouch for this, and so do the visible effect and fulfillment of these same words.

What do you hope to accomplish by engaging an obstinate Jew in a long dispute on this? It is just as though you were to talk to an insane person and prove to him that God created heaven and earth, according to Genesis 1, pointing out heaven and earth to him with your hands, and he would nevertheless prattle that these are not the heaven and earth mentioned in Genesis 1, or that they were not heaven and earth at all, but were called something else, etc. For this verse, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,” etc., is as clear and plain as the verse, “God created heaven and earth.” And the fact that this scepter has been removed from Judah for almost fifteen hundred years is as patent and manifest as heaven and earth are, so that one can readily perceive that the Jews are not simply erring and misled but that they are maliciously and willfully denying and blaspheming the recognized truth in violation of their conscience. Nobody should consider such a person worthy of wasting a single word on him, even if it dealt with Markolf the mockingbird, much less if it deals with such exalted divine words and works.

But if anyone is tempted to become displeased with me, I will serve his purpose and give him the Jews’ glosses on this text. First I will present those who do not dismiss this text but adhere to it, particularly to the Chaldaean version, which no sensible Jew can deny. These twist and turn as follows: To be sure, they say, God’s promise is certain; but our sins prevent the fulfillment of the promise. Therefore we still look forward to it until we have atoned, etc. Is this not an empty pretext, even a blasphemous one? As if God’s promise rested on our righteousness, or fell with our sins! That is tantamount to saying that God would have to become a liar because of our sin, and conversely, that he would have to become truthful again by reason of our righteousness. How could one speak more shamefully of God than to imply that he is a shaking reed which is easily swayed back and forth either by our falling down or standing up?

If God were not to make a promise or keep a promise until we were rid of sin, he would have been unable to promise or do anything from the very beginning. As David says in Psalm 130:3: “If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, Lord, who could stand?” And in Psalm 102 [143:2]: “Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for no man living is righteous before thee.” And there are many more such verses. The example of the children of Israel in the wilderness can be cited here. God led them into the land of Canaan without any righteousness on their part, in fact, with their great sins and shame, solely on account of his promise. In Deuteronomy 9:5 Moses says: “Know therefore that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness; for you are a stubborn and a disobedient people (it seems to me that this may indeed be called sin), but because of the promise which the Lord gave to your fathers,” etc. By way of example he often wanted to exterminate them, but Moses interceded for them. So little was God’s promise based upon their holiness.

It is true that wherever God promises anything conditionally, or with reservation, saying: “If you will do that, I will do this,” then the fulfillment is contingent on our action; for instance, when he declared to Solomon [I Kings 9], “If you will keep my statutes and my ordinances, then this house shall be consecrated to me; if not, I shall destroy it.” However, the promise of the Messiah is not thus conditional. For he does not say: “If you will do this or that, then the Messiah will come; if you fail to do it, he will not come.” But he promises him unconditionally, saying: “The Messiah will come at the time when the scepter has departed from Judah.” Such a promise is based only on divine truth and grace, which ignores and disregards our doings. That renders this subterfuge of the Jews inane, and, moreover, very blasphemous.

The others who depart from this text subject almost every single word of it to severe and violent misinterpretation. They really do not deserve to have their drivel and filth heard; still, in order to expose their disgrace we must exercise a bit of patience and also listen to their nonsense. For since they depart from the clear meaning of the text, they already stand condemned by their own conscience, which would constrain them to heed the text; but to vex us, they conjure up the Hebrew words before our eyes, as though we were not conversant with the Chaldaean text.

Some engage in fantasies here and say that Shiloh refers to the city of that name, where the ark of the covenant was kept (Judges 21 [cf. I Sam. 4:3]), so that the meaning would be that the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes, that is, until Saul is anointed king of Shiloh. That is surely foolish prattle. Prior to King Saul not only did Judah have no scepter, but neither did all of Israel. How, then, can it have departed when Saul became king? The text declares that Judah had first been lord over his brothers and that he then became a lion, and therefore received the scepter. Likewise, before Saul’s time no judge was lord or prince over the people of Israel, as we gather from Gideon’s speech to the people in reply to their wish that he and his descendants rule over them: “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you” (Judges 7 [8:23]). Nor was there a judge from the tribe of Judah, except perhaps for Othniel [Judg. 3:9], Joshua’s immediate successor. All the others down to Saul were from the other tribes. And although Othniel is called Caleb’s youngest brother, this does not prove that he was of the tribe of Judah, since he may have had a different father. And it does not make sense that Shiloh should here refer to a city or to Saul’s coronation in Shiloh, for Saul was anointed by Samuel in Ramath (I Samuel 10) and confirmed at Gilgal.

In any case, what is the meaning of the Chaldaean text which says that the kingdom belongs to Shiloh and that nations shall be subject to it? When was the city of Shiloh or Saul ever accorded such an honor? Israel is one nation, not many, with one body of laws, one divine worship, one name. There are many nations, however, which have different and various laws, names, and gods. Now Jacob declares that not the one nation Israel which was already his or was under Judah’s scepter but other nations would fall to Shiloh. Therefore this foolish talk reflects nothing other than the great stubbornness of the Jews, who will not submit to this saying of Jacob, although they stand convicted by their own conscience.

Others indulge in the fancy that Shiloh refers to King Jeroboam, who was crowned in Shiloh, and to whom ten tribes of Israel had defected from Rehoboam, the king of Judah (I Kings 12). Therefore, they say, this is Jacob’s meaning: The scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh, that is, Jeroboam, comes. This is just as inane as the other interpretation; for Jeroboam was not crowned in Shiloh but in Shechem (I Kings 12). Thus the scepter did not depart from Judah, but the kingdom of Judah remained, together with the tribe of Benjamin and many of the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of these two tribes, as we hear in I Kings 12. Moreover, the entire priesthood, worship, temple, and everything remained in Judah. Furthermore, Jeroboam never conquered the kingdom of Judah, nor did other nations fall to him, as they were to fall to Shiloh.

The third group babbles thus: “Shiloh means ‘sent,’ and this term applies to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.” So the meaning is that the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh, that is, the king of Babylon, comes. He was to lead Judah into exile and destroy it. This also doesn’t hold water, and a child learning his letters can disprove it. For Shiloh and shiloch are two different words. The latter may mean “sent.” But that is not the word found here; it is Shiloh, and that, as the Chaldee says, means “Messiah.” But the king of Babylon is not the Messiah who is to come from Judah, as the Jews and all the world know very well. Nor did the scepter depart from Judah even though the Jews were led captive into Babylon. That was just a punishment for seventy years. Also during this time great prophets Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel appeared who upheld the scepter and said how long the exile would be. Furthermore, Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, was regarded as a king in Babylon. And many of those who were led away into captivity returned home again during their lifetime (Haggai 2). This cannot be viewed as loss of the scepter, but as a light flogging. Even if they were deprived of their country for a while by way of punishment, God nonetheless pledged his precious word that they could remain assured of their land. But during the past fifteen hundred years not even a dog, much less a prophet, has any assurance concerning the land. Therefore the scepter has now definitely departed from Judah. I have written more about this against the Sabbatarians.

The fourth group twists the word shebet and interprets it to mean that the rod will not depart from Judah until Shiloh, that is, his son, will come, who will weaken the Gentiles. These regard the rod as the punishment and exile in which they now live. But the Messiah will come and slay all the Gentiles. That is humbug. It ignores the Chaldaean text entirely something they may and dare not do and is a completely arbitrary interpretation of the word shebet. They overlook the preceding words in which Jacob makes Judah a prince and a lion or a king, adding immediately thereafter that the scepter, or shebet, shall not depart from Judah. How could such an odd meaning about punishment follow right on the heels of such glorious words about a principality or kingdom? The sins which provoked such a punishment would have to have been proclaimed first. But all that we find mentioned here are praise, honor, and glory to the tribe of Judah.

And even if the word shebet does designate a rod for punishment, how would that help them? For the judge’s or the king’s rod is also a rod of punishment for the evildoers. Indeed, the rod of punishment cannot be any but a judge’s or sultan’s rod, since the right to administer punishment belongs solely to the authority (Deuteronomy 32): Mihi vindicatam, “Vengeance is mine.” In any event, this meaning remains unshaken that the scepter or rod of Judah shall remain even if this rod is one of punishment. But this arbitrary interpretation of the rabbis points to a foreign rod which does not rest in Judah’s hand but on Judah’s back and is wielded by a foreign hand. Even if this meaning were possible which it is not what would we do with the other passage that speaks of the saphra or mehoqeq at his feet? This would then also have to be a foreign lord’s mehoqeq and a foreign nation’s feet. But since Jacob declares that it is to be Judah and the mehoqeq of his feet, the other term, the rod, must also represent the rule of his tribe.

On the Jews and Their Lies, Part V

Some twist the word donec (“until”) and try to make “be cause” (quia) out of it. So they read: “The scepter of Judah will not depart donec; that is, because (quia) the Messiah will come.” He who perpetrated this is a precious master, worthy of being crowned with thistles. He reverses the correct order of things in this manner: The Messiah will come, therefore the scepter will remain. Jacob, however, first makes Judah a prince and a lion to whom the scepter is assigned prior to the coming of the Messiah; he then, in turn, will give it to the Messiah. Thus Judah retains neither the principality nor the role of lion nor the scepter, which Jacob assigned to him. Furthermore, the fool arbitrarily makes out of the term “until” a new term, “because.” This, of course, the language does not permit.

And finally there is a rabbi who twists the word “come” and claims that it means “to set,” just as the Hebrew uses the word “to come” for the setting of the sun. This fellow is given to such nonsense that I am at a loss to know whether he is trying to walk on his head or on his ears. For I fail to understand the purport of his words when he says that the scepter will not depart from Judah until Shiloh (the city) goes down (sets). Then David, the Messiah, will come. Where, to repeat what was said above, was the scepter of Judah prior to Shiloh or Saul? But they who rage against their own conscience and patent truth must needs speak such nonsense. In brief, Lyra is right when he says that even if they invent these and many other similar glosses, the Chaldaean text topples all of them and convicts them of being willful liars, blasphemers, and perverters of God’s word. However, I wanted to present this to us Germans so that we might see what rascals the blind Jews are and how powerfully the truth of God in our midst stands with us and against them.

And now that some have noticed that such evasions and silly glosses are null and void, they admit that the Messiah came at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem; but, they say, he is in the world secretly, sitting in Rome among the beggars and doing penance for the Jews until the time for his public appearance is at hand. These are not the words of Jews or of men but those of the arrogant, jeering devil, who most bitterly and venomously mocks us Christians and our Christ through the Jews, as if to say: “The Christians glory much in their Christ, but they have to submit to the yoke of the Romans; they must suffer and be beggars in the world, not only in the days of the emperors, but also in those of the pope. After all, they are impotent in my kingdom, the world, and I will surely remain their master.” Yes, vile devil, just mock and laugh your fill over this now; you will still tremble enough for it.

Thus the words of Jacob fared very much the same as did these words of Christ in our day: “This is my body which is given for you.” The enthusiasts distorted each word singly and collectively, putting the last things first, rather than accept the true meaning of the text, as we have observed. It is clear in this instance too that Christians such as Lyra, Raymund, Burgensis, and others certainly went to great lengths in an effort to convert the Jews. They hounded them from one word to another, just as foxes are hunted down. But after having been hounded a long time, they still persisted in their obstinacy and now set to erring consciously, and would not depart from their rabbis. Thus we must let them go their way and ignore their malicious blasphemy and lying.

I once experienced this myself. Three learned Jews came to me, hoping to discover a new Jew in me because we were beginning to read Hebrew here in Wittenberg, and remarking that matters would soon improve since we Christians were starting to read their books. When I debated with them, they gave me their glosses, as they usually do. But when I forced them back to the text, they soon fled from it, saying that they were obliged to believe their rabbis as we do the pope and the doctors, etc. I took pity on them and give them a letter of recommendation to the authorities, asking that for Christ’s sake they let them freely go their way. But later, I found out that they called Christ a tola, that is, a hanged highwayman. Therefore I do not wish to have anything more to do with any Jew. As St. Paul says, they are consigned to wrath; the more one tries to help them the baser and more stubborn they become. Leave them to their own devices.

We Christians, however, can greatly strengthen our faith with this statement of Jacob, assuring us that Christ is now present and that he has been present for almost fifteen hundred years — but not, as the devil jeers, as a beggar in Rome; rather, as a ruling Messiah. If this were not so, then God’s word and promise would be a lie. If the Jews would only let Holy Scripture be God’s word, they would also have to admit that there has been a Messiah since the time of Herod (no matter where), rather than awaiting another. But before doing this, they will rather tear and pervert Scripture until it is no longer Scripture. And this is in fact their situation: They have neither Messiah nor Scripture, just as Isaiah 28 prophesied of them.

But may this suffice on the saying of Jacob. Let us take another saying which the Jews did not and cannot twist and distort in this way. In the last words of David, we find him saying (II Samuel 23:2): “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me, his word is upon my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel ….” And a little later [in v. 5]: “Does not my house stand so with God?” Or, to translate it literally from the Hebrew: “My house is of course not thus,” etc. That is to say: “My house is, after all, not worthy; this is too glorious a thing and it is too much that God does all of this for a poor man like me.” “For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure.” Note well how David exults with so numerous and seemingly superfluous words that the Spirit of God has spoken through him and that God’s word is upon his tongue. Thus he says: “The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel,” etc. It is as if he were to say: “My dear people, give ear. Whoever can hear, let him hear. Here is God, who is speaking and saying, ‘Listen,'” etc. What is it, then, that you exhort us to listen to? What is God saying through you? What does he wish to say to you? What shall we hear?

This is what you are to hear: that God made an everlasting, firm, and sure covenant with me and my house, a covenant of which my house is not worthy. Indeed, my house is nothing compared to God; and yet he did this. What is this everlasting covenant? Oh, open your ears and listen! My house and God have bound themselves together forever through an oath. This is a covenant, a promise which must exist and endure forever. For it is God’s covenant and pledge, which no one shall or can break or hinder. My house shall stand eternally; it is “ordered in all things and secure.” The word aruk (“ordered”) conveys the meaning that it will not disappoint or fail one in the least. Have you heard this? And do you believe that God is truthful? Yes, without doubt. My dear people, do you also believe that he can and will keep his word?

Well and good, if God is truthful and almighty and spoke these words through David which no Jew dares to deny then David’s house and government (which are the same thing) must have endured since the time he spoke these words, and must still endure and will endure forever that is, eternally. Otherwise, God would be a liar. In brief, either we must have David’s house or heir, who reigns from the time of David to the present and in eternity, or David died as a flagrant liar to his last day, uttering these words (as it seems) as so much idle chitchat: “God speaks, God says, God promises.” It is futile to join the Jews in giving God the lie, saying that he did not keep these precious words and promises. We must, I say, have an heir of David from his time onward, in proof of the fact that his house has never stood empty no matter where this heir may be. For his house must have been continuous and must ever remain so. Here we find God’s word that this is an everlasting, firm, and sure covenant, without a flaw. but everything in it must be aruk, magnificently ordered, as God orders all his work. Psalm 111:3: “Full of honor and majesty in his work.”

Now let the Jews produce such an heir of David. For they must do so, since we read here that David’s house is everlasting, a house that no one will destroy or hinder, but rather as we also read here [II Sam. 23:4], it shall be like the sun shining forth, which no cloud can hinder. If they are unable to present such an heir or house of David, then they stand fully condemned by this verse, and they show that they are surely without God, without David, without Messiah, without everything, that they are lost and eternally condemned. Of course, they cannot deny that the kingdom or house of David endured uninterruptedly until the Babylonian captivity, even throughout the Babylonian captivity, and following this to the days of Herod. It endured, I say, not by its own power and merit but by virtue of this everlasting covenant made with the house of David. For most of their kings and rulers were evil, practicing idolatry, killing the prophets, and living shamefully. For example, Rehoboam, Joram, Joash, Ahaz, Manasseh, etc., surpassed all the Gentiles or the kings of Israel in vileness. Because of them, the house and tribe of David fully deserved to be exterminated. That was what finally happened to the kingdom of Israel. However, the covenant made with David remained in effect. The books of the kings and of the prophets exultantly declare that God preserved a lamp or a light to the house of David which he would not permit to be extinguished. Thus we read in II Kings 8:19 and in II Chronicles 21:7: “Yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant which he had made with David, since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.” The same thought is expressed in II Samuel 7:12.

By way of contrast, look at the kingdom of Israel, where the rule never remained with the same tribe or family beyond the second generation, with the exception of Jehu [65] who by reason of a special promise carried it into the fourth generation of his house. Otherwise it always passed from one tribe to another, and at times scarcely survived for one generation; moreover, it was not long until the kingdom died out completely. But through the wondrous deeds of God the kingdom of Judah remained within the tribe of Judah and the house of David. It withstood strong opposition on the part of the Gentiles round about, from Israel itself, from uprisings within, and from gross idolatries and sins, so that it would not have been surprising if it had perished in the third generation under Rehoboam, or at least under Joram, Ahaz, and Manasseh. But it had a strong Protector who did not let it die or let its light become extinguished. The promise was given that it would remain firm, eternally firm and secure. And so it has remained and must remain down to the present and forever; for God does not and cannot lie.

The Jews drivel that the kingdom perished with the Babylonian captivity. As we said earlier, this is empty talk; for this constituted but a short punishment, definitely confined to a period of seventy years. God had pledged his word for that. Moreover, he preserved them during this time through splendid prophets. Furthermore, King Jehoiachin was exalted above all the kings in Babylon, and Daniel and his companions ruled not only over Judah and Israel but also over the Babylonian Empire. [66] Even if their seat of government was not in Jerusalem for a short span of time, they nonetheless ruled elsewhere much more gloriously than in Jerusalem. Thus we may say that the house of David did not be come extinct in Babylon but shone more resplendently than in Jerusalem. They only had to vacate their homeland for a while by way of punishment. For when a king takes the field of a foreign country he cannot be regarded as an ex-king because he is not in his home land, especially if he is attended by great victory and good fortune against many nations. Rather one should say that he is more illustrious abroad than at home.

If God kept his covenant from the time of David to that of Herod, preserving his house from extinction, he must have kept it from that time on to the present, and he will keep it eternally, so that David’s house has not died and cannot die eternally. For we dare not rebuke God as half truthful and half untruthful, saying that he kept his covenant and preserved David’s house faithfully from David’s time to that of Herod, but that after the time of Herod he began to lie and to become deceitful, ignoring and altering his covenant. No, for as the house of David remained and shone up to Herod’s time, thus it had to remain under Herod and after Herod, shining to eternity.

Now we note how nicely this saying of David harmonizes with that of the patriarch Jacob: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the mehoqeq from his feet until Messiah comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples” [Gen. 49:10]. How can it be expressed more clearly or differently that David’s house will shine forth until the Messiah comes? Then, through him, the house of David will shine not only over Judah and Israel but also over the Gentiles, or over other and more numerous countries. This indeed does not mean that it will become extinct, but that it will shine farther and more lustrously than before his advent. And thus, as David says, this is an eternal kingdom and an eternal covenant. Therefore it follows most cogently from this that the Messiah came when the scepter departed from Judah _ unless we want to revile God by saying that he did not keep his covenant and oath. Even if the stiff-necked, stubborn Jews refuse to accept this, at least our faith has been confirmed and strengthened by it. We do not give a fig for their crazy glosses, which they have spun out of their own heads. We have the clear text.

These last words of David to revert to them once more are founded on God’s own word, where he says to him, as he here boasts at his end: “Would you build me a house to dwell in?” (II Sam. 7 [:5]). You can read what follows there_how God continues to relate that until now he has lived in no house, but that he had chosen him [i.e., David] to be a prince over his people, to whom he would assign a fixed place and grant him rest, concluding, “I will make you a house” [cf. II Sam. 7:11]. That is to say: Neither ,you nor anyone else will build me a house to dwell in; I am far, far too great for that, as we read also in Isaiah 66. No, I will build you a house. For thus says the Lord, as Nathan asserts: “The Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house” [II Sam. 7:11]. Everyone is familiar with a house built by man_ a very perishable structure fashioned of stone and wood. But a house built by God means the establishing of the father of a family who would ever after have heirs and descendants of his blood and lineage. Thus Moses says in Exodus 1 [:21] that God built houses for the midwives because they did not obey the king’s command, but let the infants live and did not kill them. On the other hand, he breaks down and extinguishes the houses of the kings of Israel in the second generation.

Thus David has here a secure house, built by God, which is to have heirs forever. It is not a plain house; no, he says, “You shall be prince over my people Israel” [II Sam. 7:8]. Therefore it shall be called a princely, a royal house — that is, the house of Prince David or King David, in which your children shall reign forever and be princes such as you are. The books and histories of the kings prove this true, tracing it down to the time of Herod. Until that time the scepter and saphra are in the tribe of Judah.

Now follows the second theme, concerning Shiloh. How long shall my house thus stand and how long shall my descendants rule? He answers thus [II Sam. 7:12-16]: “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come forth from your body (utero — that is, from your flesh and blood), and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chastise him with the rod of men (as one whips children), with the stripes of the sons of men; but I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.” This statement is found almost verbatim also in I Chronicles 18 [17:11-14], where you may read it.

Whoever would refer these verses to Solomon would indeed be an arbitrary interpreter. For although Solomon was not yet born at this time, indeed the adultery with his mother Bathsheba had not yet even been committed, he is nonetheless not the seed of David born after David’s death, of whom the text says, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you.” For Solomon was born during David’s lifetime. It would be foolish, yes, ridiculous, to say that the term “raised up” here means that Solomon should be raised up after David’s death to become king or to build the house; for three other chapters (I Kings 1, I Chronicles 24 [28], and I Chronicles 29) attest that Solomon was not only instated as king during his father’s lifetime, but that he also received command from his father David, as well as the entire plan of the temple, of all the rooms, its detailed equipment, and the organization of the whole kingdom. It is obvious that Solomon did not build the temple or order the kingdom or the priesthood according to his own plans but according to those of David, who prescribed everything, in fact, already arranged it during his lifetime.

There is also a great discrepancy and a difference in words between II Samuel 7 and I Chronicles 24 [28] and 29. The former states that God will build David an eternal house, the latter that Solomon shall build a house in God’s name. The former passage states without any condition or qualification that it shall stand forever and be hindered by no sin. The latter passage conditions its continuance on Solomon’s and his descendants’ continued piety. Since he did not remain pious, he not only lost the ten tribes of Israel but was also exterminated in the seventh generation. The former is a promissio gratiae [“a promise of grace”], the latter a promissio legis [“a promise of law”]. In the former passage David thanks God that his house will stand forever, in the latter he does not thank God that Solomon’s temple will stand forever. In other words, the two passages refer to different times and to different things and houses. And although God does call Solomon his son in the latter also and says that he will be his father, this promise is dependent on the condition that Solomon will remain pious. Such a condition is not found in the former passage. It is not at all rare that God calls his saints, as well as the angels, his children. But the son mentioned in II Samuel 7:14 is a different and special son who will retain the kingdom unconditionally and be hindered by no sin.

Also the prophets and the psalms quote II Samuel 7, which speaks of David’s seed after his death, whereas they pay no attention to I Chronicles 24 [28] and 29, which speak of Solomon. In Psalm 89 [:1-4] we read: “I will sing of thy steadfast love, O Lord, for ever; with my mouth I will proclaim thy faithfulness to all generations. For thy steadfast love was established for ever, thy faithfulness is firm as the heavens. Thou hast said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant: “I will establish your descendants for ever, and build your throne for all generations.”‘” These too are clear words. God vows and swears an oath to grant David his grace forever, and to build and preserve his house, seed, and throne eternally.

Later, in verse 19, we have an express reference to the true David. This verse contains the most beautiful prophecies of the Messiah, which cannot apply to Solomon. For he was not the sovereign of all kings on earth, nor did his rule extend over land and sea. These facts cannot be glossed over. Furthermore, the kingdom did not remain with Solomon’s house. He had no absolute promise with regard to this, but only a promise conditional on his piety. But it was the house of David that had the promise, and he had more sons than Solomon. And as the history books report, the scepter of Judah at times passed from brother to brother, from cousin to cousin, but always remained in the house of David. For instance, Ahaziah left no son, and Ahaz left none, so according to the custom of Holy Scripture the nephews had to be heirs and sons.

Anyone who would venture to contradict such clear and convincing statements of Scripture regarding the eternal house of David, which are borne out by the histories, showing that there were always kings or princes down to the Messiah, must be either the devil himself or whoever is his follower. For I can readily believe that the devil, or whoever it may be, would be unwilling to acknowledge a Messiah, but still he would have to acknowledge David’s eternal house and throne. For he cannot deny the clear words of God in his oath vowing that his word would not be changed and that he would not lie to David, not even by reason of any sin, as the aforementioned psalm [Ps. 89] impressively and clearly states.

Now such an eternal house of David is nowhere to be found unless we place the scepter before the Messiah and the Messiah after the scepter, and then join the two together: namely, by asserting that the Messiah appeared when the scepter departed and that David’s house was thus preserved forever. In that way God is found truthful and faithful in his word, covenant, and oath. For it is obvious that the scepter of Judah completely collapsed at the time of Herod, but much more so when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the scepter of Judah. Now if David’s house is eternal and God truthful, then the true King of Judah, the Messiah, must have come at that time. No barking, interpreting, or glossing will change this. The text is too authoritative and too clear. If the Jews refuse to admit it, we do not care.

For us it is enough that, first of all, our Christian faith finds here most substantial proof, and that such verses afford me very great joy and comfort that we have such strong testimony also in the Old Testament. Second, we are certain that even the devil and the Jews themselves cannot refute this in their hearts and that in their own consciences they are convinced. This can surely and certainly be noted by the fact that they twist this saying of Jacob concerning the scepter (as they do all of Scripture) in so many ways betraying that they are convinced and won over, and yet refuse to admit it. They are like the devil, who knows very well that God’s word is the truth and yet with deliberate malice contradicts and blasphemes it. The Jews feel distinctly that these verses are solid rock and their interpretation nothing but straw or spiderweb. But with willful and malicious resolve they will not admit this; yet they insist on being and on being known as God’s people, solely because they are of the blood of the patriarchs. Otherwise they have nothing of which to boast. As to what lineage alone can effect, we have spoken above. It is just as if the devil were to boast that he was of angelic stock, and by reason of this was the only angel and child of God, even though he is really God’s foe.

End of Luther’s remarks to the messiahship of Jesus Christ.

 

I have copied the whole above text from the following website:

https://christogenea.org/references/jews-and-their-lies-1543

Jewish Christianity and the eating of pork

Let me first state that Jewish Christianity has nothing to do with Messianic Judaism. Messianic Judaism is such an impure phenomenon (syncretism)  that it should not be allowed to call a Jewish Christian Messianic Jew. The notion which is generally generated through the term “Messianic Jew” is completely different from what is meant by the term Jewish Christian.

Within the Christian Church, a Jew who has converted to Christianity shall solely be called Jewish Christian or simply Christian (within the Church, the difference between Jews and Gentiles is completely annulled). By the term “Jew”, I mean somebody who is a biological descendent of the Patriarch Jacob.

A Jew becomes a Jewish Christian through repentance, faith in Jesus and sacramental baptism. None of these three items is dispensable – yet, the actual rebirth is the sacramental baptism. Through sacramental baptism, a Jew gets “into” Christ or receives the Holy Spirit (of course, baptism is not a magic-mechanical act, and therefore the power of baptism only materializes when there is also repentance and faith).

There is absolutely no need that a Jewish Christian observes the Jewish law as long as he lives in a Gentile surrounding. Through baptism, the giver of the law (God) dwells in him (please, take that literally). As a Jewish Christian is led by the giver of the law, he actually needs no more (written) law (he only may need it as a framework for his acting; it makes him realize when he acts according to his sinful flesh).

We have to distinguish between the moral law and the ritual law. Of course, the framework for the Jewish Christian I just mentioned is the moral law of the Tanakh or Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. As long  as a Jewish Christian lives within a Gentile surrounding he should by no means keep the ritual law because since conversion to Christianity, he is distinguished from the Gentiles through his faith in Jesus, and there is no more need for an artificial distinction through outward rituals. The Jewish Christian fulfils the moral law through a life in Christ which is much more than to keep it, another category, and therefore there is no need for the Jewish Christian to be always occupied with studying the single commandments of the Torah – as mentioned, the moral law consisting of single commandments is only a framework for the Jewish Christian within which he can act. Now and then, a Jewish Christian may read the single commandments, but that has nothing to do with the delusional Bible study of the Jews or Messianic Jews.

God gave the rituals or the ritual law to the (biological) Jews only for the reason that they might not mingle with the Gentiles. God wanted to preserve the biological descendants of Jacob, Isaac and Abraham until their conversion to Christianity as a whole (we still wait for the conversion of the people of Israel as whole). The keeping of outward rituals is very attractive for religious people – for example, Jews. That was God’s plan. From the point of view of the Gentiles, the rituals of the Jews are totally ridiculous – on the other hand, the Jews stay away from the Gentiles because they regard them as lawless Gojim (infidels) which only deserve contempt. Thus, neither the Gentiles want to deal with the Jews nor want the Jews deal with the Gentiles – God’s plan fulfilled, and still today you can encounter squillion of people on earth who all descend from one single man (!): Jacob. The divine wisdom preserved the Jews from mingling with the Gentiles – it is only that they should gradually start to convert to Christianity because only when they do that, the whole thing was meaningful.

The reason why God decided to keep the Jews as a people is that their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, honoured Him (God) in such an extraordinary way that it can hardly be worded. Abraham was a former pagan who returned to the worship of the Lord, the eternal God, who has made heaven and earth, despite the fact that the rest of the mankind had renounced the worship of the Creator and worshipped the demons. Nobody can imagine the hardship which Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had to endure in a world which was ruled by the demons – absolutely outrageous. The spiritual darkness of that gone world was as real as the concrete walls of a German Nazi-bunker.

Now, let us consider the eating of pork.

Deuteronomy 14: 8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.

Indeed, at first, it is hard to understand why we Christians (Jewish Christians plus Gentile Christians) eat pork despite the fact that we can read in the Old Testament (Tanakh, Hebrew Bible) that the eating of pork is prohibited (see the above verse of Deuteronomy 14). The whole thing is therefore not easy to understand because for the Christians or the Christian Church, the Old Testament belongs to the Holy Scripture just like the New Testament, and is therefore fully valid. The Christian faith rests upon the evidence of the Old Testament as well as on the evidence of the New Testament. In fact, the New Testament provides no new doctrine, but the doctrine of the Redeemer, which is somewhat hidden in the Old Testament, is more unfolded in the New Testament – yet, note that the Old Testament already included the doctrine of a redeemer. Before God became man (incarnated), the Old Testament was the general Holy Scripture, The Holy Scripture.

What is the New Testament?

In the New Testament we find the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. The core of this teaching is already included in the Old Testament, only somewhat hidden. Jesus and the apostles did not teach something new. They only have more unfolded some issues of the Old Testament.

The old people of Israel had received the law under Moses. Through the law, God raised the forefinger and told the Israelites, “this and that what you do doesn’t please me!” However, the Israelites misunderstood that and thought they could gain God’s favour through keeping the law without the help of a divine redeemer. Because they tried to keep the law by own strength, they started to sin more instead of less because the sin, took occasion by the commandment, deceived them, and by it slew me (the natural man cannot keep the commandments; on the contrary, he sins more when he is given commandments which shows how sinful man is by nature). 

Alternative:

The Israelites should have rather thought: when God gives us commandments meaning he raises hortatively the forefinger, then this shows us that we are not at peace with him; we have left our “heavenly state in God”. Therefore, we have to return to this “heavenly state” and in this state we will through God’s power automatically live a life which is not in conflict with the law. Way back, the Jews were not able to make such a high spiritual raising, and still until today (March 9th, 2018), they are not able to rise in such a way. God may pour out the Holy Spirit upon them so that they may realize that Jesus from Nazareth is their Messiah, and that they can through Him return into the confident communion with the Lord, the eternal God, who has made heaven and earth. Also the Old Testament prophets always pointed to that Redeemer, but only a few Israelites understood it.

Now comes the crux of my discussion (be attentive).

When we read the Old Testament, we see that the people of Israel were often descended to a lower moral level than the surrounding Gentiles (the Israelites often rather behaved like pigs or swine than the surrounding Gentiles). That, of course, was a scandal of the first rank and a catastrophe. The people of God lived more godless than the Gentiles, to which God had revealed himself much less than to Israel. It is not the case that God did not at all reveal himself to the Gentiles, but they had got the testimony of the creation: the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sea, the animals, the plants, good weather, good harvests, man himself, the crown of creation.  Nevertheless, God revealed himself to Israel much more than to the Gentiles (they saw his power when he destroyed the army of Egypt in the Red Sea; they saw him on Mount Sinai when he gave the law to them; they experienced His presence in the cloudy pillar which accompanied them or in the Tabernacle or in the Temple).

Because the Israelites rejected the prescribed Redeemer, God gave them away, and they became increasingly worse sinners. That way, they forfeited His military protection against the Gentiles, which were very belligerent. Yet before Christ, Israel started to disintegrate.

see Babylonian captivity

The Israelites were scattered amongst the peoples (Jewish diaspora). This development culminated in the process of the complete destruction (!) of the state of Israel through the Romans which had a first climax in  the destruction of the Temple, which occurred 70 after Christ.

see Jewish-Roman Wars

Though, God chastised his people so intensively, so extraordinarily intensively, and allowed their enemies to pounce on them, they still were God’s people because the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

God had got a plan for them (at the end of time, they should become His people again but in Spirit and in Truth, and he wanted to dwell amongst them again), but fore the remote future (it is even possible that we today live in that time, and that God’s plan will be executed very soon).

The Jewish diaspora began about  2600 years ago.

There was great danger that the Jews would mingle with the Gentiles during that long, long time (ca. 2600 years up to now), and thus perish as a people. By the way, many peoples have yet perished in the course of history: Goths, Vandals, Langobards,, Edomites, Amalekites, Prussians, Hittites, etc. Partly, they were destroyed, partly, they mingled with the stronger peoples.

To preserve Israel from mingling with the Gentiles, God gave them certain rituals. He deliberately chose ridiculous things like the prohibition of eating of pork, which are absurd from the point of view of rationalism. Reason says, of course, that the eating of pork is morally neutral, and only braindead fanatics might fancy that there would be such a prohibition of eating of pork by God. Even, exactly this was God’s plan. God built an artificial barrier between Jews and Gentiles which exists up to today; though, it is absurd in itself. But the protection just consists in the absurdity because it causes that the Gentiles don’t want to deal with the Jews. On the other hand, the Jews don’t want to deal with Gentiles because they despise them as pork-eating Gojim (infidels).

Conclusion:

A Jewish Christian is basically allowed to eat pork. There is no more need to keep an artificial distinction to the Gentiles. The spiritual state in Christ counts much more than the Jewish descend, and thus the distinction between Jews and Gentiles which was formerly wanted by God plays no more role: “Just eat pork, my beloved Jewish brother in Christ because we are united in Christ.” A Jewish Christian is distinguished from the piggy or swinish Gentiles by his faith in Jesus who causes very good (high-standard) moral behaviour, and thus separated from them. Therefore, there is no more need to forego the eating of pork.

Through his not-being-a-swine, his high-standard moral behaviour, a Jewish Christian has more than kept the old commandment of not to eat pork, he has even fulfilled it.

The previous statements are valid on the condition that a Jewish Christian lives in a Gentile surrounding – for example, when a Jewish Christian lives in Germany or the USA.

Yet, in Israel there are another conditions. Most citizens of Israel are biological Jews – she is a Jewish state concerning the descend of most of her inhabitants (yet, spiritually seen, she is the 51th or 52th federal state of the USA, and her religion is the civil religion of the USA according to Enlightenment). Every day, it could happen that the people of Israel start to convert to Christianity according to the prophecy of the Bible.

How should a Jewish Christian behave there?

It depends.

When he lives in an area or town which is more traditional Jewish and less enlightened, then he should observe even the ritual law (that would be outrageous in a Gentile surrounding, see above) for the sake of the Jews who not yet believe in Christ. It is about to give them no reason for taking umbrage. This keeping of the ritual law by the Jewish Christian would neither have something to do with Judaism nor with Messianic Judaism – it is a very special kind of behaviour according to divine love and patience which can only be understood by believers in Christ.

Acts 21: 20-25 20 And when they (the Church of Jerusalem; R. B.) heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou (St. Paul; R. B.) seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: 21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. 22 What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. 23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; 24 Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. 25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

The Church of Jerusalem required St. Paul to keep the law – at first, hard to understand. But it was all about giving the Jews who not yet believed in Jesus no reason for taking umbrage. Neither the Church of Jerusalem, led by Jacob, a biological brother of Jesus, nor St. Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles, had ever required a Gentile Christian to keep the Jewish law (of course, the moral portion of the Jewish law is a framework also for the Gentile Christian within which he can act – that has nothing to do with the Jewish keeping of the law). Even a Gentile Christian living amongst Jews or Jewish Christians was never required to keep the Jewish law.

Dear reader, your eternal salvation depends on that that you understand that whole matter rightly. Try really to figure out what is the difference between Jewish Christianity and Messianic Judaism.

The divine manifestation since then the eating of pork is allowed for Jewish Christians:

Acts 10: 9-16 9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

Addition:

Everybody who requires a Gentile Christian to keep the Jewish law in the Jewish manner be cursed and eternally condemned. If a Gentile Christian starts to try to keep the law in the Jewish manner, he is no longer blessed with God’s grace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The difference between Christianity and Judaism – check it right now!

By the term “Christianity” I do not mean the type of Christianity which is distorted through the doctrines of Enlightenment, but I mean Christianity according to the evidence of the Bible (Old Testament plus New Testament). Unfortunately, the religion which is generally named “Christianity” today is actually enlightened Christianity and has nothing to do with genuine Christianity.

By the term “Judaism” I mean genuine Judaism (regrettably, genuine Judaism is according to a false interpretation of the Tanakh; the Tanakh is also called Hebrew Bible and corresponds to the Old Testament). I am fully convinced that people like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Moses, Samuel, David, etc. did not practice Judaism but another religion which was, however, according to the revelation of God which their ancestors had already received up to their own lifetime (the Old Testament was revealed step by step so that the generations up to the time of consummation of the Tanakh always had only a portion of it).

An enlightened Jew and an enlightened Christian may have no problem to be on good terms (considering the history, it is something extraordinary when a Jew and a Christian can endure each other).”Enlightened Christianity” is strictly speaking a heresy from the point of view of the Christian Church, which adheres to the evidence of the Bible. Of course, any heretical faith will lead to eternal damnation. Yet, God will not judge anybody solely because of some conceptual errors (mere thoughts), but for the iniquities they cause. One of that iniquities is a misunderstood love which is different from divine love. The mutual agreement of an enlightened Christian and an enlightened Jew rests upon misunderstood love, and is not according to divine love. At the first glance, enlightened love seems to be so attractive, but yet it will lead to eternal damnation. We live in a world system (“Babylon”) which has a certain structure. Enlightened love is an attribute of that system – you may even understand that in the sense of software technology: the whole world as a giant operating system (like Windows) having as one of many attributes the attribute: “enlightened love”; “Babylon” is not adjusted that way for the sake of the benefit of the ordinary inhabitants of that earth, but the public peace including the peace at the workplace shall be preserved. The “administrators” (certainly not the ordinary inhabitants of that earth) of “Babylon” benefit from public peace because it causes maximum productivity of the peoples and reduces loss through civil wars or religious wars to a minimum. Consider that tax revenue depends on the productivity of the peoples – now, you may know who the “administrators” are.

The system “Babylon” runs at the expense of truth. “Babylon” welcomes every religion as long as it is ready to be modified (by enlightenment) – “Babylon” hates nothing more than any type of genuine religion. Of course, many religions claim that they would be true or genuine; however, Christianity is the only really true or genuine religion, and no other religion has such deep roots in the history of mankind and the history of the people of Israel. Christianity is rooted in history, is a historical religion, and therefore it is really true. All other religions contain significant portions of human fiction having nothing to do with reality; therefore, they are false no matter how strongly they claim to be true – its just all about delusion. The fervour of the false religions to claim they would be true or genuine rests upon delusion and fanaticism (demonical impact) and has nothing to do with the strong and sober conviction of the Christian Church which is caused by the very decent Holy Spirit and rests, as mentioned, on the evidence of historical reality.

Hence, the worst enemy of that current world system is  neither Islam nor communism or anything else but Christianity according to the evidence of the Bible – doesn’t sound it strange that Christianity could be the enemy of anybody save the devil? Yet, nothing sounds strange here when we realize that that world system is more and more controlled by the devil (for centuries, the impact of the devil was dampened by the Holy Spirit – but as the Church has nearly disappeared and together with her the Spirit, we today experience the full-revelation of evil, of the devil). When Barack Hussein Obama seizes rule again, he will persecute every true Christian – Obama is the Antichrist. Obama will finally make Christianity an anachronism which cannot be tolerated on this “advanced” and “progressive” planet – he will use military means when the number of the Christians starts to grow again unexpectedly and suddenly through the conversion of the people of Israel as a whole.

One misunderstanding must be repelled immediately: that Christianity would mean lawlessness (concerning the laws of the Bible). Considering todays “Christianity”, one could conclude that “Christianity” just means complete adaption to the world for the sake of peace and wealth and denial of any law of the Bible. That is the reason why I mentioned enlightened Christianity above. A todays Jew may have a completely wrong notion of Christianity according to his perception of modern Christianity. Dear reader, let me tell you that true Christianity is not lawless – however, it has neither to do something with Judaism nor with Messianic Judaism (a very impure evangelical heresy; syncretism at its best).

What is the role of the law in true Christianity?

The law provides a framework within which we can act. Basically, a Christian would not need any law because he is led by the giver of the Law, God or the Holy Spirit. However, every Christian has got a burden: his body who is sinful in itself. Though, mostly, a Christian will overcome the sinfulness of his body through the releasing power of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, there can be periods of time when the sinful flesh prevails – that is simply because we (I consider myself a Christian) are human beings who are subjected to ups and downs. The subjection to ups and downs is so human that anybody who would not suffer it could hardly be named a human being. Of course, when the flesh prevails, God wants to pull us back into his presence; that, he does by using the law. Through the law he tells us that something is going wrong. He raises the forefinger and gives us a hint (pointer) that we do things which don’t please him.

What is the answer to such a hint (pointer)?

A Christian will never try to keep again a certain law he has transgressed by his natural power but will pray, “my Lord Jesus Christ, please forgive me and purify me and restore unto me your releasing power and the joy of your salvation.” The reason why we have sinned is that we have left his presence (though, we know of that connection, it will occur time and again). We ask God for pulling us back into his presence. A great support, an infinite support for us is sacramental baptism. We have a clearly defined point in space and time where we received the rebirth out of Water and Spirit. Everybody who is sacramentally baptized knows for sure that he has received the rebirth. We cannot destroy this rebirth through single sins (we would only destroy it if we would basically refuse the impact of the Holy Spirit whom we received through the rebirth and declare His impact as demonical meaning that we would make a basic decision to renounce the Christian faith).

In contrast to a Christian, an adherent of Judaism will answer God’s pointer as follows:

Despite the fact that he never overcomes any sin (!), he tells God, “oh, of course, I will keep your commandments.” On the surface, the Jew seems to give an acceptable answer, but if we look carefully at the issue, we realize that the Jew’s answer is not acceptable at all. We have to take in account the fact that the Jew knows by real life experience that he never gains the victory when he struggles with the sin or any temptations. If the Jew would be honest, then he had to admit that his whole life is a complete defeat, a whole mess. I could quote statements of St. Paul which can be found in his Epistle to the Romans concerning this issue, but I will simply quote some sections of the Old Testament (Tanakh) which is a holy scripture also in the eyes of a Jew (if I would quote a passage of Romans, the Jew would certainly refuse it, telling me that the New Testament would be no holy scripture).

Certainly, it is well known that Israel received the law when God came down on Mount Sinai – by the way, he really came down on the mountain because the mountain started to burn and almost collapsed when God came down on it.

However, it was not the first time when they received the law at Mount Sinai. They had yet received it in Marah. When they received it in Marah, God was not yet angry. But because they did not keep the law they had received at Marah, God became very angry and came down on Mount Sinai where he roared (!) at them, confronting them with the law.

Now comes the crux of my discussion:

At Marah (and Elim), they had not only received the law first time, but there, they came across some strange things which they did not understand, but which were nothing but an Old Testament announcement of the gospel – however, they did not understand the announcement. Had they understood the announcements of Marah and Elim and accepted their Redeemer, God had given them the power to keep His law and even to fulfil it, and he had never roared at them at Mount Sinai.

Exodus 15: 22-27 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. 27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

Interpretation of Exodus 15: 22-27

For some thousand years (!) the Jews may puzzle over that section of the Bible – what it means, and up to the current day, they have not yet understood it. First, when a lousy Gentile (Goy in Hebrew language) explains to them their own Holy Scripture, they may gradually understand (I hope they will not be hindered by their pride to admit that they needed a Goy as interpreter of their own Scripture) – ain’t that outrageous?

Now, what is meant by that section of Exodus?

“25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet:”

This “tree” is a symbol for Jesus Christ or for the cross on which he died for us or for the gospel – it doesn’t matter what is meant exactly. The “bitter waters” symbolize the profane doctrine of the worship of God which comes out of the sinful human flesh (they may even symbolize the devil and his demons who have access to our flesh): try to keep the commandments through your natural strength, and God will be pleased (this doctrine causes “bitterness” because it leads to perpetual defeat). If there would be no divine revelation, that profane doctrine would be almost acceptable because it would be very hard to find any other doctrine concerning the worship of God – “how else should we worship God”, one could ask? Yet, God has revealed another truths: we are sinful by nature and cannot keep any commandment through our natural power. Though, the intention to try to keep the law is not bad in itself, of course, it must be complemented by the message of the gospel. If we believe in a divine redeemer, the Redeemer, then we will live a life through His power which is not in conflict with the law because the giver of the law leads us – thus, the “bitter waters” become sweet. Through sacramental baptism, we get into the Redeemer or receive the Holy Spirit – the Spirit becomes effective when we believe or try to be obedient through the releasing power of baptism, the realising power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The “sweet waters” may either symbolize the Holy Spirit or the holy waters of sacramental baptism.

“26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.”

As mentioned above, today, we suffer enlightened Christianity which means among others that wonders or miracles and cure are no more natural in the Church; actually, no more cures take place in the Church. Only some Pentecostal or Charismatic sects experience cures, but that must be considered as demonical deceit because those people are no Christians at all. In the true Christian Church, if it still would exist, cures (without any deceit, of course) would be very, very natural, and that cures would show that God is pleased with those Church as a whole. In fact, diseases and sin are only two different expressions of the same spiritual syndrome. So to speak: when you sin, you are yet sick or ill – it is only that not always it becomes immediately obvious through a real, visible disease (for example, cancer) because God is so patient and gives us so much time to repent – and how shall we repent when we die so fast of diseases, or when we are sick all the time. Yet, when a disease has yet taken hold of us, it is high time to repent and to return into God’s presence through the Redeemer. By a serious disease, God expresses that our life needs a fundamental change right now (the disease is a full stop – the end of our previous life). God is – despite his basic patience – no more ready to tolerate our previous lifestyle, and his patience has reached a limit. If we draw the right conclusions, diseases can turn into a blessing for us.

Briefly: Every serious disease has a metaphysical aspect from the point of view of the Christian Church. Thus, by mentioning diseases, God wanted to give a pointer to the old Jews under Moses that something was wrong with them. The Spirit of the Lord wanted to make clear to them that they suffered from a metaphysical symptom which was more than the visible disease: the sin-disease-syndrome. The Jews always claimed they would keep the law, but that was in contrast to historical reality (in reality, they were lousy, little sinners and constantly broke the law). God wanted to destroy their delusion by pointing to their diseases which were a undeniable proof for their life in sin, their moral bankrupt.

“27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.” 

What is meant by the “twelve wells” and the “seventy palm trees”?

Of course, the twelve wells symbolize the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. They were “wells” because they spread the gospel all over the world – “sweet water proceeded out of their mouth and wetted the earth”. Also the seventy disciples of the Lord spread the good news, and so many people “found refuge under their shadow”.

Revelation 21: 14 And the wall of the city (the heavenly Jerusalem; R. B.) had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Luke 10: 17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

The Jewish King David wrote, Psalm 87: 7 As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

How could the old Jews figure out what I have just written here – consider that they did not have the New Testament with all its information which is available for us. I am convinced that Moses could have explained everything to them, but they were too proud to ask him. Spiritually seen, Moses was a Christian because he believed in a redeemer. And like they were too proud to take good advice from Moses, they are still too proud today to take advice from their spiritual relative, the Christian Church. (the Church is spiritually related to Jesus, and Jesus is biologically related to the Jews; therefore, the Church is related to the Jews)

Exodus 19: 5-8 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. 7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him. 8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

Verse 8 which is marked red shows the great presumption of the old Jews under Moses: they presumed they could keep the law without the help of a redeemer (that was a lie against the historical reality).

Some few days after that, God came down in majesty on Mount Sinai and roared at them. He was angry because they presumed they could keep the law without the help of a redeemer; in other words: they always claimed they wanted to keep the law, but in reality they did not keep it at all. Bottom line, their confession was a pure lie, and that made God angry.

Exodus 20: 18-19 19 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Hebrews 12: 18-24 18 For ye (Jewish Christians; R. B.) are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, 19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: 20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) 22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (the Christian Church; R. B.), and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things that that of Abel.

(yet at Old Testament times it was possible to find the Redeemer and to believe in Him, yet at Old Testament times it was possible to be a citizen of the heavenly Jerusalem; however, as the New Testament was not yet revealed, the search for the heavenly Jerusalem was probably more difficult than today – nevertheless, if the old Jews at the time of Moses had asked him, he had explained to them everything)

See Exodus 19 (the story of God’s epiphany at Mount Sinai).

Note:

The story of the epiphany of the God of Israel on Mount Sinai is the most fundamental story of the Bible, on which rests the genuine faith. The epiphany of God on Mount Sinai was an historical event. Note(!): This epiphany was observed by a whole people. When “we” yet believe what any lunatic has dreamed in dark and hot cave in Arabia (guess whom I mean), where he was completely alone and therefore no witnesses were present, we should all the more believe what took place in the presence of some hundred thousands of awake people by daylight (the phrase I used “when ‘we’ yet believe what any lunatic has dreamed …” was meant merely rhetorically: of course, we should by no means believe what the mentioned Arabian lunatic called the messages of the angle Gabriel because there in the cave he had got no witnesses).

The whole occurrence of God’s epiphany on Mount Sinai was very, very impressive so that even Moses got frightened.

The spiritual meaning of that occurrence is: God will never annul his law – always, take it very serious.  Sill today, we should get frightened when we constantly break his law (this is valid for everybody no matter what he believes).

The corrupt core of Judaism is the following: the Jews always claim to keep the law despite the fact that this is in contrast to historical reality. Their whole religion consists of a mere lip service which is worthless and even ridiculous.

You may ask, “ain’t the keeping of the law what the Jewish belief mainly consists of?” No, always when they tell that they want to keep the law, they lie – it is mere lip service.

However, even though, the old Jews didn’t really keep the law, God could use them as witnesses watching His coming on the Mount Sinai.

Addition:

Concerning the  number of people who experienced how God roared at them from Mount Sinai

About ten to eleven months after Sinai, Moses and Aaron counted the people (only the males which were at least twenty years old and fit for military service).

They found a number of 603550.

Numbers 1: 46 Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.

These 603550 were only the ones who were at least twenty years old, male and fit for military service. Therefore, the number of all Israelites (including women, infants, children, youth, invalids, ancients, etc.) during the time of the census was much higher.

Thus, it was really a large crowd who became witnesses of God’s epiphany on Mount Sinai, which took place only 10 to 11 months before the census.

The Muslims believe the nonsense of Mohammed despite the fact that he had not only one single witness who could testify that an angle had talked with him – therefore, their faith rests upon the mere nothing and is meaningless.

In contrast to the Muslims, the most fundamental and constituent occurrence of the Christian faith is testified by at least some hundred thousand people – breathtaking.

Further addition:

The “bitter waters” (see the above section of Exodus 15) may also symbolize our “natural baptism”.

What is that???

We all have biologically inherited the sinfulness of Adam. That is our natural baptism. Every natural man is that sinful that one could assume he had been baptized into the sin. Of course, such a baptism never took or takes place, but the sinfulness of Adam is transmitted biologically from generation to generation – outrageous.

Thank God, our natural baptism can always get annulled through sacramental baptism, the rebirth out of Water and Spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drought in Israel – Jews pray for rain but in vain

How you can start a YouTube-Video despite error message: “An error occurred, please try again later”, you can find here.

Of course, it can pour down in Israel again immediately after I have published this article. However, this rain would be no divine answer to the current prayers of the Jews for rain (see YouTube-Video, above), but he would let it rain of his own accord, not regarding their prayers, for the following reason: he doesn’t want to utterly destroy them, but he only wants to educate (chastise) them.

The Jews currently praying for rain are not entitled to any answer to prayer. The religion which is commonly called Judaism today doesn’t correspond to the correct interpretation of the Old Testament, which is called Tanakh by the Jews. The correct interpretation of the Old Testament leads to Christianity. Spiritually seen, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, etc. were Christians because they believed in a Redeemer and didn’t want to become righteous through works of the law (however, they lived no lawless life because the law-giver was with them). God’s today’s religion is Christianity because it bases on the Word of God, the Holy Scripture, the Old and the New Testament. Today’s Judaism has no divine legitimation because it doesn’t base on the Holy Scripture but on a false interpretation of the Old Testament.

(there is no contradiction between New Testament and Old Testament, but together both books are the Holy Scripture of the Christian Church; it is only that in the New Testament some topics are more unfolded which are somewhat hidden in the Old Testament; a Jew could not rely on the Old Testament (Tanakh) when he would criticise Christianity; this would be an complete error)

I never want to accuse the Jews of any concrete, practical sin – the thought never crossed my mind. Yet, it is a fact that the today’s Jews are separated from God by a very heavy sin of the spirit: they don’t want to become righteous through faith in a Redeemer but through works of the law. The truth in contrast is that God only gave the law (law of the Torah, the commandments of God) concerning its spiritual dimension in order that man might realize his natural sinfulness. If the natural man tries to keep the commandments by his own strength, then he will  notice that he feels like doing more sin than less because “sin takes occasion of the commandment”. Hence, the law reveals the complete depravity of man, and that he needs a Redeemer setting him free from sin and guilt.

Nearly no today’s Jew would accept to be called an idolater, who has deserved similar punishments like the Old Testament Jews who served the idols instead of God. But the persistence of the today’s Jews in a heresy, just the so-called Judaism, is also idolatry because recusancy is a sin like idolatry. The Jews resist God; they are restive against Him by not accepting the faith God has prescribed, the faith in Jesus, but persisting in self-willed worship service.

1. Samuel 15, 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. (this said the prophet Samuel to king Saul; R. B.)

Saul had not completely executed the ban against the Amalekites.

1. Samuel 15, 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

The today’s Jews sin similar to Saul and the people at that time by not wanting to execute the ban against their sinful flesh (see note, below). Through faith in Jesus, who is their Messiah, the Jews would execute the ban against their sinful flesh. Through sacramental baptism the problem of our sinful flesh is solved (the Gentiles have the same problem like the Jews): we die for the sin, and get into Christ through baptism. Hence, someone believing in Jesus Christ has executed the ban against his flesh (his natural man, or what he naturally is, by birth). Through the power of Christ we can obey God despite our sinful flesh. Through Christ we present our bodies as a living sacrifice by obeying God through Christ, in Christ’s power. This is the true worship service which pleases God.

1. Samuel 15, 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

(The people wanted to sacrifice the spared animals to the LORD; but that was self-willed worship service because the LORD hat commanded to execute the ban against the animals, not to sacrifice them; the LORD demanded obedience to his ban-command and not the sacrifice of animals; R. B.)

Regarding the meaning of baptism (including infant baptism):

Of course, we become righteous through mere faith in Jesus, who died and rose for us. He was delivered for our offences and was raised again for our justification. However, we are weakened through our sinful flesh what could cause that we use the grace for sinning: “God has forgiven me, Jesus has carried my sins on the cross; hence, I can sin without hesitation.” Through the power of baptism (we have died and resurrected together with Christ) we don’t use grace by sinning without hesitation, but we present our bodies as a living sacrifice and worship God in spirit and in truth. Through baptism our faith is connected with obedience. We will come through at Judgement Day because we kept the faith through the power of baptism and remained in faith. The one who fights the good fight of faith will not give up to overcome his sin through the power of baptism more and more; for that one Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross is an atonement – he has got the forgiveness.

Note:

“Sinful flesh” is the natural man without faith and baptism; what we are by nature, by birth.

God and the number π – solution for the puzzle in connection with the ratio between the circumference of the molten sea (1. Kings 7: 23-26) and its diameter

1. Kings 7: 23-26

23 And he (Hiram out of Tyre, a worker in brass who worked on behalf of king Solomon; R. B.) made a molten sea (a big, round vessel; R. B.), ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. 24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast. 25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. 26 And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.

Interpretation

You certainly know, dear reader, that the value of the number π (Pi) is about 3.14; 3.14 is, of course, an approximation. When you read the above section of the Old Testament (part of the Bible) with the eyes of a rationalist, you could conclude that God would not know the number π very exactly because 30 divided by 10 (C/d; circumference divided by diameter) gives 3 (three). The above section of the Bible could be abused in order to defame God and his servants as such a philistines which would quote the value of π all to roughly with 3 (be it because of measuring errors when they measured the diameter or the circumference of the sea, or be it because of calculation errors).

At first, the point of view of a rationalist

Let us imply, that the sea had been an ordinary, round vessel like a vessel used for liquids in a chemical factory.

For the following, I take 3.1416 as approximate value for π which is yet a pretty exact value.

Furthermore, for the following for the sake of simplicity I assume that the diameter had been measured correctly but the circumference wrong. Hence, I assume no calculation error but a measuring error.

Imagine a cylinder with the diameter one meter. You would wrap around it a string and get a circumference of 3 meters (???) as a result. What would that mean? It would mean that you had made a measuring error of more than 14.16 cm (0.1416 meter) because the formula C = π * d (circumference is equal to π times diameter) is valid. The real circumference according to the mentioned formula would account for 3.1416 meters in contrast to your measurement. Your wrong result of three meters would mean a difference of 14.16 cm – that is pretty much and really a perceivable error.

The measure cubit mentioned in the above section of the Bible, I assume with 45 cm. Let us just calculate the measuring error which those ones seemingly made who determined diameter and circumference of the molten sea. We merely have to multiply 0.1416 with 10 and with 45 cm (3.1416 * d – 3 * d; whereby d = 10 * 45 cm). As a result, believe it or not, we get 63.72 cm. The rationalist would say that those ones who measured the sea were pretty cross-eyed because their error was indeed 63.72 cm (more than a half meter).

End of the rationalist point of view.

The text of the above section of the Bible includes an objective constraint:

In order to describe any circle, it is fully enough to quote its diameter without its circumference because the ratio between circumference and diameter is fixed, just π. We must assume that the author of 1. Kings who was inspired by God did not want to provide any reason to the enemies of God for defamation that God’s servants would not be able to quote the value of π more exactly than three which would mean an error of 14.16 cm when you would have a small circle of only one meter in diameter. Such an error is completely inacceptable, or the formula C = 3 * d is completely unfit for everyday life (construction sites, trade, etc.) because it delivers results which differ much too much from reality. According to the false formula C = 3 * d, a cylinder of 2 meters diameter and a height of 1 meter had a volume of 3 cubic meters (V = π·r²·h). Would one in contrast calculate with the value 3.1416 for π then he would get a volume of 3.1416 cubic meters. Hence, the difference would account for 141.6 liters (3141.6 l – 3000 l = 141.6 l; 1 cubic meter is equal to 1000 liters). Hence, the value 3 (for π) is a value which could not be or cannot be accepted at all (it would cause heavy problems when one would compute circular constructs of structures, or when someone would compute quantities of liquids for trade, for example vine).

The author of the above section of the Bible seems to be determined to provide a reason for the defamation of God’s servants as blockheads to the enemies of God by quoting not only the diameter of the sea but also its circumference with a ridiculous rough value for the ratio of both to each other of 3.

Gradually, we have to call into play realities which one only can perceive by eyes of faith, and which remain hidden to the rationalist (note: the true realists on earth who take into account everything which is real are not the rationalists, which consider themselves as the only realists on earth in their perfidious presumption and assumption, but the pious – concerning that I may add on another article).

In order to clear my brothers (I hope they would accept me as their brother if they would be still alive) which have measured the sea back then and the author of the above section of the Bible of the accusation of stupidity and backwardness, I want to quote a spiritual reality:

“God wants to make straight the crooked and the rough places plain.”

Isaiah 40: 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

Luke 3: 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

Another spiritual realities:

The molten sea represents the grace of God for all pious of all ages (two times thousand baths could be poured in; the number two (2) symbolizes the two groups Jewish Christians (first group) and Gentile Christians (second group); and “thousand” simply means “all” or “everybody”. Briefly: Through the grace of God all sinners (the “crooked”) which repent and believe in Jesus become the righteous (the “smooth” ones).

The issue concerning π and 3 makes perfect the whole symbolism: The sea caused a curvature of the space within the sea (of course, an outstanding miracle).

Given a circumference of the sea of 30 cubits, the diameter had had to account 30/π  = 10 cubits times 3/π according to the formula d = C/π. That gives a “crooked” number with the value 9.5492 . . . as a result. When one multiplies this value with π, he gets 30 cubits again.

What I want to express, is the following: Most probably, the sea had a real diameter (if one had measured it from outside in the normal space of our world) of 9.5492 . . . cubits. However, and that is extremely exciting and marvellous, the measuring rod or string or whatever was used to measure the sea displayed 10 cubits (measurement inside the sea). Hence, the measuring rod was crooked in the space; it was shortened a little inside the sea; factor: 3/π). Because the value of π is “crooked” in the natural, not curved space (the world in which we live), it became 3 in the curved space of the sea because the curvature within the space of the sea exactly neutralized the “crookedness” of π which it has in our world. The natural, not curved space is simply the space in which we, you and I,  live. In this space π = 3,141592 . . . . The curved space within in the sea represents the space of the true Christian Church where miracles can take place. The molten sea was something unique in the history of mankind and the same is valid for the Christian Church. Like the curvature of space was the special thing of the sea, miracles are the special thing of the Christian Church. The main miracle within the Church is that sinners become righteous there through the grace of God.

Romans 3: 23-24 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

If you, dear reader, would be a mathematician and pious at the same time, you would know what I mean because π is indeed a very “crooked” number.

Leibnitz formula for π:

{\displaystyle 1\,-\,{\frac {1}{3}}\,+\,{\frac {1}{5}}\,-\,{\frac {1}{7}}\,+\,{\frac {1}{9}}\,-\,\cdots \,=\,{\frac {\pi }{4}}.}

π = 3.14159265358979323846 . . .

When we take the number π as a symbol for crookedness which would be very standing to reason then the above section of the Bible becomes very precious for us.

The ratio of circumference of a normal circle to its diameter is very “crooked”, just π. The molten sea was able to neutralize this “crookedness”; thus, the molten sea becomes an illustration of the grace of God for us which makes righteous out of sinners.

Through God’s grace I have also solved the puzzle of the two rows of knops compassing the sea; the solution is highly mathematical and less spiritual but has, of course, something to do with the spiritual character of the molten sea:

Breathtaking discovery – Jews knew the slide rule with logarithmized scale (1. Kings 7: 23-26) yet during the reign of King Solomon

The above section of the Bible you can find here: Holy Bible

© 2018 Confessing Church. All rights reserved.

Breathtaking discovery – Jews knew the slide rule with logarithmized scale (1. Kings 7: 23-26) yet during the reign of King Solomon

1. Kings 7: 23-26

23 And he (Hiram out of Tyre, a worker in brass who worked on behalf of king Solomon; R. B.) made a molten sea (a big, round vessel; R. B.), ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. 24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast. 25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. 26 And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.

Interpretation

The above section from 1. Kings includes several mysteries or provides some puzzles. At first glance, one could conclude that the old Jews had not used the formula C = π * d(circumference is equal to π times diameter) for the calculation of the circumference of a circle but the formula C = 3 * d. Had the Jews back then really used the formula C = 3 * d instead of the formula C = π * d then they had been extreme philistines yet for the conditions at that time and had provided a reason for defamation to the enemies of God how brainless his servants would be.

In and through Jesus Christ, his glorious name be praised for ever and ever, I have solved this problem, and hence, the Jews of those days are cleared from the accusation of philistinism.

Concerning that, see the following:

God and the number π – solution for the puzzle in connection with the ratio between the circumference of the molten sea (1. Kings 7: 23-26) and its diameter

A further mystery is (or was) what the two rows of knops mean which were compassing the sea round about.

“24 And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.”

Well, to put it briefly, the two rows of knops were equal to the two fixed logarithmized scales of a slide rule.

(what you have just read, is an outright sensation because it was published in English language first time in history today at February 19, 2018 – at February 12, 2018, I have published it in German  language the very first time – please note that King Solomon ruled in the 10th century BC; that means that meanwhile, believe it or not, about 3000 years have elapsed since then, and nobody has solved the puzzle; and now in the year 2018 AD, after such a long time, it finally happened; and I give the glory to God.)

What justifies my claim that the two rows of knops represented a slide rule?

Well, when you, dear reader, would read the above section of the Bible exactly, you would notice that the number 10 (ten) appears twice there. Once, it is the diameter which is valid in the interior of the sea (the vessel wall belongs to the interior of the sea; see note, below), and the other time it is the number of knops per cubit outside on the vessel (see verse 24, above).

Do you notice something?

1 (one) is the common logarithm of 10 (ten). The diameter of the sea (when someone measured it inside the sea) of ten (10) cubits was displayed on one (1) cubit (ca. 45 cm)including ten knops. Most probably, the knops had got the function of the tick marks of a measuring rod. However, the knops were not arranged like the tick marks on a normal measuring rod which one can buy in a hardware store, but the distances between the knops were logarithmic.

log10(10) = 1

(for log10(x), the abbreviation lg(x) can be used)

When we count 10 knops beginning with a certain start-knop on the sea, we reach the end of stretch of way 1 (one cubit, lg10) – this is according to verse 24, above. According to the principle of the slide rule I assign the number 10 to the stretch of way one (one cubit, lg 10). I assign the number 100 to the stretch of way 2 (two cubits, lg100). When one adds up the logarithms of the both factors of a product a = b * c, he gets the logarithm of the product: lga = lgb + lgc. On the slide rule, the multiplication of two numbers is depicted through the addition of their logarithms. The trick is that to the stretches of way which represent the logarithms of the various numbers, the numbers themselves are assigned and not the log-value – of course, one has to be aware that these are numbers to multiply and not numbers to add (only the logarithms of the numbers are added but not the numbers themselves).

Example:

Calculation of the product 100 * 10

That means to add the stretch of way 2 (two cubits, lg100) to the stretch of way 1 (one cubit, lg10) – gives as a result stretch of way 3 (three cubits). This must be equal to the value 1000 (lg1000 = 3). We had to assign 1000 to the stretch of way 3 then we could directly read off the value of the product.

Basic principle of the slide rule; watch video, below:

How you can start a YouTube-Video despite error message: “An error occured, please try again later”, you can find here.

The moveable part of the “slide rule” of the molten sea was simply the string which was possibly used to measure the diameter of the sea. It was also possible to calculate without a string by counting the knops.

Something interesting:

The two rows of knops were not only a slide rule but also a simple ruler where the logarithmic scale played no role. Certainly, pilgrims from all over the world came to Jerusalem in order to convince themselves that concerning the molten sea the formula C = π * d was not valid but the formula C = 3 * d (on the condition that the diameter was measured inside the sea) which was an exceptional miracle, something really extraordinary. When the diameter of the sea had been picked up with a string then this stretch of way could be compared with the rule of knops. The result was always the same: ten cubits (ten cubits was equal to the 91th knop including the start-knop; hence, with the stretch of way on the string which was 10 cubits one reached exactly the 91th knop). Here, the logarithmic scale played no role save the fact that one had to count 9 knops per cubit instead of 10. Certainly, sometimes a high officer of a neighbouring country of Israel came by with a cubit-measuring rod and checked the two rows of knops and found confirmed that always 9 knops gave exactly one cubit (maybe 45 cm); every 9th  knop meant the addition of one cubit (in the above section of the Bible, every 9th knop is counted double because the end-knop of one section – when the knops were counted – was also the beginning-knop of the next section so that one got 10 knops per cubit as a result). This calibration was important because in this way any imputation was avoided that the priests of the Temple would have manipulated the scales. Any fraud after calibration would have been extremely difficult because the knops were cast together with the whole sea and therefore fixed, indeed – nobody could easily move them (see verse 24, above).

When the sea had not been supernatural, the result of a measurement of the diameter (given 30 cubits circumference) had had to be about 9.5493 cubits (C/π = 30/3,1415…). However, it was really supernatural and by assistance of the knops all people on earth could convince themselves that a measurement of the diameter of the sea gave the exceptional value of 10 cubits (the real diameter of the sea was 9,5493 . . . cubits, but was determined only if somebody had measured the diameter from outside in the natural, not curved space of our world using a giant calliper which would have meant an enormous technical expense because the sea was giant). For the sake of simplicity, the diameter was always measured with a string stretched over the sea whereby it was important to stretch it over the center of sea to get correct results; here, the knop scales delivered additional help because by the scale the half circumference was easily to find (knop 136). When the string was stretched from knop 1 to knop 136 it ran exactly through the center of the sea and thus the “correct” (correct regarding the inner space of the sea) diameter was measured. This measurement always gave 10 cubits because the inner space of the sea was curved (this curvature of space was supernatural, of course).

In order to convince oneself from the ongoing miracle of the molten sea, a ridiculous small string of a length of a little more than 4,5 meters (10 cubits) was a sufficient tool; one could easily carry such a string with one. Certainly, yet at that time, even poor people could afford a simple string so that everybody could convince himself of the supernaturality of the sea.

When one had convinced oneself that the pickup of the diameter was indeed 10 cubits at one of the scales, he only had to continue counting  9 knops after knop 3 (stretch of way ca. 0.477 or lg3 cubits) and reached knop 12; the start-knop of the whole scale for counting was knop number 1 because when you have a multiplication-scale the first point lg1 (factor = 1; stretch = 0) corresponds to the point zero (summand = 0; stretch = 0) of an addition-scale. The stretch of way to knop 12 was lg10 + lg3 = lg 30; the value of the product was 30.

Interestingly, the lg(π) is pretty exactly 0.5 (0.4971 . . .); that means that lgπ has always halved one section of the scale pretty exactly. This measure was easily to find. The measure for lg3 was only ca. 0.477. The knop at the point with value 30 (stretch lg30) came thus ca. 0.9 cm (see hint below) before the point with the value 31,415 . . . (stretch ca. lg31.416) which was perfectly marked through its approximate center position. Briefly: Through the fact that the 12. knop came ca. 0.9 cm before the approximate center of the second scale-section it was to realize at the first glance that the sea was supernatural because if it had not been supernatural, it circumference had to be about 31.415 . . . (stretch lg 31.416) which pretty exactly corresponded to the center of the second scale-section.

Hint: 0.9 cm = (lg31.416 – lg30) * 45 cm (I assume 45 cm for one cubit).

Do you have headaches know, dear reader?

Just take your time, maybe some days, in order to understand the issue – you could end up in getting eternal salvation; this expenditure of time could be really worthwhile.

Note:

When the diameter of the sea was measured inside the sea (including the wall), the result was about 10 cubits because the measuring-mean was crooked in the space (that was a miracle and the spectacular thing of the sea); that means it was shortened by the factor 3/π so that the diameter of the sea appeared π/3 greater than it really was. When the diameter had been measured from outside, the result had been 9.5493 meters because as long as the measuring-mean stood outside the sea, it was not crooked and displayed the value which was valid in the natural space of our world. However, in order to measure the diameter from outside, a giant calliper had been needed because the sea was giant itself and had a diameter of ca. 4.3 meters (9.5493 times 0.45 meters; measured from outside!).

“Everything is clear now?”

The above section of the Bible you can find here: Holy Bible

Use of the slide rule

How you can start a YouTube-Video despite error message: “An error occured, please try again later”, you can find here.

© 2018 Confessing Church. All rights reserved.

 

The two witnesses, the two olive trees and the two candlesticks mentioned in the Revelation – interpretation of Revelation 11: 1-14 (high-standard interpretation)

1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. 3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

Interpretation

“1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”

Is this metaphorical language or to take in the literal sense?

It is metaphorical language because somebody can measure a temple and an altar but not those ones who worship therein. According to the evidence of the New Testament, the new Temple of God is no building but consists of human beings. The new Temple is the Christian Church: all human beings believing in Jesus. The altar of the Temple is Christ, “on which the sacrifice of the body of Jesus was offered”: Jesus Christ died for us on the cross and has borne our sins there. Nobody can measure this Temple consisting of people with an ordinary measuring rod, but only through the Holy Spirit one can judge that the crowd of all believers (in Christ) together with Jesus, the head of the Church, are the new Temple of God, the place of his presence.

The “reed” reminds us of the “bruised reed” Jesus talks about. The true Temple of God consists of “reeds” which are no longer bruised, but which Jesus has made whole again – Jesus cures the poor (“bruised”) little sinners.  

Matthew 12: 20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.

This is confirmed by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians, Chapter 6:

14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision (the Jews; R. B.) availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision (the Gentiles; R. B.), but a new creature (both Jews and Gentiles believing in Jesus; R. B.). 16 And as many as walk according to this rule (“rule” reminds us of measure; R. B.), peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God (the new “Israel of God “are all Jews and Gentiles believing in Jesus; R. B.).

Hence, the true Temple of God or the Church consists of sinners which through the realising power of His death and resurrection have become people who sin increasingly less and do righteous acts increasingly more – up to perfect, practical holiness (but, of course, no real Christian will ever say that he is without sin). Here, it doesn’t matter if somebody is a Jew by nature or a Gentile; only significant is the new life in Jesus (being a new creature).

“2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

Despite the fact that the Church is the new Temple of God, Jerusalem, where the old Temple which was made out of stones stood, is still sacred.

Why?

1. Kings 8: 15-16 15 And he (King Solomon; R. B.) said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 16 Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel (finally, God chose Jerusalem; R. B.) to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.

1. Kings 11: 36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. 

Daniel 6: 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. (Daniel still prayed towards Jerusalem despite the fact that the Temple had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar – that means that despite the fact that there was no more Temple in Jerusalem, Jerusalem was still The Sacred City of God; even today, Jerusalem is still the Sacred City of God; R. B.)

Romans 9: 4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

Romans 11: 29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

According to what St. Paul writes in Romans (see the two verses, above), the promise of God which one can read for example in 1. Kings 8: 15-16,  1. Kings 11: 36 and Daniel 6: 10 (see the verses, above) is still valid: the present earthly Jerusalem, the capital of the state Israel, is still a sacred city. However, until today, the Holy City is treaded under foot by the Gentiles (let your eyes take note what your read here, dear reader); the present state Israel is a secular state and is above all not sovereign but depends on the benevolence of the USA and other Western countries. There is no great difference for a Jew whether he lives in the USA or in Israel. Actually, Israel is merely the 51th federal state of the USA. In fact, the Jews do not really rule their country themselves but the Gentiles – that is a matter of fact. Insofar, Jerusalem is indeed treaded under foot by the Gentiles. Assumed, in the near future, all Jews would promptly (of course, “promptly” doesn’t mean within a second, but the conversion of the people of Israel, some million people, to Christianity may last some decades) accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah; thus, becoming real Jews in God’s eyes, then the Messiah (Jesus) would immediately (meaning after the process of the conversion of the Jews, which may last some decades, is finished) return in power and glory and in the form of God and finish (by use of violence) the treading of Jerusalem by the Gentiles.

Briefly: Though Jerusalem is still a sacred city in God’s eyes, it shall not be measured (taken in account) meaning that the Christian Church, the new Temple of God, is much more interesting for God than the city Jerusalem. Jerusalem is only the forecourt of the Temple, but the Temple itself is the Christian Church.

By the way, we don’t need to try to calculate the real time meant by the 42 “months” (see note, below) because if we could really calculate when the time of the Gentiles will be over, we would know when Jesus will return (however, when the “moment” of his return has come, is at hand, he will let us know). But concerning his return (long-term vision) Jesus has said that we have no rightly aspire to the knowledge of times and point of times, but he will come suddenly like an unexpected thief at night. Though God will never reveal unto us how long the treading of Jerusalem by the Gentiles will last (except the “moment” of the end of the treading has almost come, appears at the horizon), we can figure out what is symbolized by the 42 “months”. The 42 “months” symbolize the period of time from the destruction of the old Temple made of stones by the Romans (this occurred 70 A. D.) up to the second coming of Christ.

Acts 1: 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Matthew 24: 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

“3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.”

“My two witnesses” is a term of metaphorical language which means two groups of people: one of the two witnesses are the Gentile Christians, and the other one are the Jewish Christians. In principle, all Jews believing in Jesus and all Gentiles believing in Jesus are joint together through the faith in Jesus – together, they form the Christian Church. The older olive tree or candle stick are the Jews (but only the really pious ones) because they are the old people of God which has yet existed before the Christian Church emerged. Strictly speaking, the old people of God were only those of the Jews (the biological descendants of Jacob) which believed in a divine redeemer or, simply said, were pious whereby they probably did not know that the name of the redeemer was Jesus but simply called him Lord. The “biological” Jews in general yet at Old Testament times had a problem to really believe in the God of Israel (today we know that his name is Jesus). And even when the God of Israel visited them in the person of Jesus Christ, only a few of them believed in him, and the people of Israel as a whole has virtually rejected him. This state regrettably lasts up to the current day. Nevertheless, at Old Testament times the old olive tree or candlestick was formed almost only of pious Jews (biological Jews which believed in a divine redeemer).  However, the disobedience of his old people (in the biological sense) seems to have persuaded God to awake children for himself amongst the Gentiles, and that are we, the Gentile Christians. The Gentile Christians are so to speak the second witness, candlestick or olive tree whereby they have the same root like the old olive tree; and in principle, both are one tree, one witness and one candlestick. But, as I have yet said, through their general disobedience the (biological) Jews have forced it that the one olive tree must look like two olive trees: when we think of the Christian Church today, we only think of Gentile Christians as if a (biological) Jew could never become a believer in Christ (that is outrageous), but actually the Church should consist of both Jews and Gentiles who have repented and put their trust in the Lord. The present olive tree is nearly formed only by Gentiles believing in Christ. Yet, things move quickly, and even the second olive tree formed almost only of Gentiles is about to disappear. Today, there are nearly no more people on earth who really believe in Jesus Christ (there are plenty of sects and heretical churches, but these are no true Christians; the Evangelicals are also no, no, no Christians at all; Billy Graham, who just has died, was a heretic).

Plainly and clearly: The imagination of God of the olive tree for Old Testament times and for New Testament times is the same: an olive tree comprising Jews believing in a redeemer and Gentiles believing in a redeemer. Yet, at Old Testament times nearly only biological Jews believed in a redeemer (nearly all Gentiles deliberately remained in apostasy), and in New Testament times (except the future time of the conversion of the Jews) nearly only Gentiles really believe in a redeemer (nearly all Jews deliberately remain in apostasy up to the current day). Hence, it looks like as if there would be two different olive trees: Jewish Christians at the one hand and Gentile Christians at the other hand. However, actually, they are one united tree and have one common root. As today the Gentile Christians become less and less, God will make the Jewish Christian olive tree “bloom” again. An earth without a growing group of people belonging to Him is unthinkable for God. I dare to predict that the Jews will start to convert in the course of the next years.

“sackcloth”

Jewish Christians and Gentile Christian lament their personal sinfulness but also the sin of the world. This belongs to their testimony. Their lamentation will first change into joy when God will give them a body without sinful inclinations, and when the sin of the surrounding world will have disappeared. When Jesus returns, sinners (people who do not believe in Jesus at the moment when he returns) will be separated from the believers by a big gap. However, the lamentation should not make us sour faces. Through faith and sacramental baptism we are “in Christ”, and he helps us to overcome our sinful inclinations and old habits. However, it is incredible that despite this fact the world perceives us as losers because in the world dominates the “contest between flesh and flesh”. People participate in a contest of what they can achieve through their natural abilities. In contrast to that, the Christian manages everything through the power of the Holy Spirit and not by his natural power; therefore, the Christian is disqualified from the contest of the world, and the world finds that very sad. The world honours the religious hypocrites (for example the pope) for their works out of the flesh, but she doesn’t honour the true Christians who really do divine works through Jesus Christ. The world honours the Scribes and Pharisees for their ridiculous praying, fasting and almsgiving to be seen by the people. In contrast to that, Jesus, who cured body and soul of sick people, was little honoured – yet, Jesus did divine works. Yet, Jesus had not even been interested in any honour of the world, but he was only focused on the benefit of the sick people and wanted to cure their soul and their body. Jesus wanted to remedy the distress of the people; Jesus only saw the people and their need, their suffering, their pain, their sadness, their misfortune  – this caused his resolute acting. God will honour Jesus for ever and ever because he sought not the applause of this bad world but solely the benefit of the people and eternal honour from God.

Plainly and clearly: the world could have stand Jesus if he had sought her applause; according to that, the world could stand the Church if she would seek her applause. It causes her grief or sorrow that the true Church doesn’t seek her applause – the world perceives the Church as wearing “sackcloth”.

What happens during the “thousand two hundred and threescore days”?

These are “1260 days” (metaphorical language) from the destruction of the Temple up to the time when the second coming of Jesus Christ, who will violently finish the treading of Jerusalem by the Gentiles, “will appear at the horizon”, which will be indicated through the beginning conversion of the Jews (“the two witnesses come alive again”) shortly after the total spiritual death of Gentile Christianity. The testimony of the olive trees, as long as they are alive, consists mainly of the proclamation of the Word of Truth, God’s gospel of his Son Jesus Christ, and in keeping the Word of Patience, the Sermon on the Mount. The testimony of the Church includes also care for the poor, the sick, the delinquents, the foreigners, etc. with a view to their conversion – the Church is not obligated to take care of all disadvantaged people of this world. Only by faith in Christ, the problems of anybody can be solved durably. Only if somebody becomes a real member of the Church by repentance and faith, he gets a share in her holistic supply system. The “1260 days” seemingly come to an end or have yet ended because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is no longer proclaimed (the todays proclamation of the “gospel” by the Evangelicals doesn’t count because their “gospel” is a distorted gospel, actually a false gospel); the Sermon on the Mount is not taken serious (the Evangelicals take it serious only by their reason, not really keeping it, because they stick in their sinful flesh; they are not redeemed), and care for the disadvantaged people has become a pure business; hence, “the two witness have died or are dead”.

“5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.”

The “fire proceeding out of their mouth” are the revenge-prayers of the pious Christians. The more the apostasy increases, the more Christians will be treated badly in everyday life. The Christian will not revenge himself but entrust God with the revenge who will pour out fire over the evildoers. Through God, the revenge-prayers of the Christians become fire – so to speak, fire proceeds out of their mouth.

(At opportune time, I may insert an interpretation of Revelation 8: 1-5 here to explain the issue of revenge-prayers more extensively)

“6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.”

This “power” is the prayer of the Church again. The Church doesn’t know only the revenge-prayers but also the prayer for the salvation of the sinners. God hears the prayers of the Church by applying his educating wrath: He sends war, hunger, plagues and wild animals to educate the people, to lead them to repentance. However, it doesn’t look like that our direct ancestors had accepted God’s education, and now He seemingly gives us away.

The “thousand two hundred and threescore days” seem to come to an end gradually. God gives the mankind away gradually so that she becomes ripe for his destructive wrath. We should not have postponed repentance and faith in Jesus for such a long time – God is very, very patient, but even His patience is not unlimited.  

2. Thessalonians 2: 9-12 9 Even him (the Antichrist; R. B.), whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved (meaning they did not repent and believe in Jesus; R. B.). 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth (meaning they did not repent and believe in Jesus; R. B.), but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

“7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.”

The textual context shows that by “kill them” is not meant the physical death of single Christians through execution but the spiritual death of the Church. Exactly this, we face today. At the latest, since the 18th century the secular states influence the churches and their doctrine. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches are no longer allowed to teach their traditional doctrine, but they have to teach a kind of enlightened Christianity. The Catholic and the Protestant interpretations of the Bible (except the interpretations of Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who did a very good job) were yet bad enough without influence of the state.

What is enlightened Christianity?

The core of enlightened Christianity is that the moral teachings of genuine Christianity shall be preserved, but the metaphysical component of genuine Christianity is rejected. Jesus is not recognized as Son of God, a person of the Godhead who is able to do miracles but he is only acknowledged as a pious teacher of morality, a pious (ordinary) man without the power of doing miracles. Simply said: somebody must become mad when he tries to keep the commandments of Jesus without having Jesus himself who alone could give the power to keep his commandments. Without Jesus, we are pure flesh, and his commandments only cause that we sin more instead of less (“the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest”). The criminal and bestial of enlightened Christianity is that it doesn’t impart the living Jesus, God’s Son, who alone is able to help us to be good or pious. Only by the realising power of Jesus we can live according to God’s commandments and will even fulfil them. I repeat: the commandments alone without having Jesus through faith and baptism destroy us. Not that the commandments would be bad, but our sinful nature is that bad; what we are by nature. Therefore, we have to be reborn out of Water and Spirit through the sacramental baptism, received faithfully. When we refer to our sacramental baptism including infant baptism, then we will be filled with the Holy Spirit, then we get into Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, we are able to live according to the commandments of Jesus because Jesus gives us the necessary power through the Holy Spirit.

“Jesus as teacher of morality” (enlightened Christianity) first sounds so harmless, but in fact it is the worst seduction of all times, absolute Anti-Christianity. Forget Enlightenment! Yes, forget it!  

In other words, one could say that the enlightened states have beheaded the Church because when the churches are no longer allowed to teach that Jesus is the Son of God and our saviour from sins then the Church is robbed of her head, Christ. Preparatory stages of the decapitation of the churches through the state were papacy, cheap-grace-Protestantism and the rechristen (or are they called Anabaptists? – at any rate, I mean the Evangelicals, who baptize someone again who has yet been sacramentally baptized as an infant; I would even define Evangelicals as those ones who re-baptize people).

For centuries, the Church becomes ruined through papacy, cheap-grace-Protestantism and rechristen (or Anabaptists?) (rechristen a very bad people who baptize someone who has already validly been baptized again). This ruin has achieved its maximum beginning with the 18th century when the states began to control the doctrine of the churches. The enlightened states carried the ruin of the churches to the extremes.

Briefly: The religion which is generally called Christianity today is no longer the genuine Christianity on the basis of the evidence of the Bible but a Christianity distorted by Enlightenment which leads to the complete ruin of the soul of the individual. Long-term it will ruin the whole Western world and finally the whole world.

Our present states are no longer authorities in the biblical sense but “members of the beast because they have misappropriated the Church. The rider on the white horse mentioned in Revelation 6: 1-2 has become a tyrant. The states no longer protect and preserve their people/peoples which would be their divine mandate  but harm them – outrageous.

“the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit”

What is meant by that sentence?

Well, the so-called Enlightenment is nothing other then the warming over of the age-old crap of Greek philosophy. From the Christian point of view the Greek philosophers were stupid people but no wise men. The old Romans loved the Greek culture (abominable paganism from the Christian point of view).  Hence, today we have so to speak a neo-Roman culture, and we have become Romans in a spiritual sense –  “the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit”. The whole could also be called neo-paganism.

Plainly and clearly: By forcing the Church to teach a kind of enlightened Christianity, the enlightened states have killed and kill the Church (the “two witnesses”) spiritually – that is an ongoing process. However, the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) was ruinous yet without influence of the state; yet the genuine doctrine of the RCC is bad. Actually, the only good thing the RCC has got is the sacramental baptism, which is good in itself – however, abused by the RCC because not applied in a sphere of faith where it could be expected that yet an infant believes; nevertheless, the baptism of the RCC is valid as long she keeps the right intention and the correct image of God.

“8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.”

The “decapitated” (see above) churches can generate, of course, only dead bodies meaning the members of the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant churches (churches keeping the Protestant theology which appreciates baptism as a sacrament) and the Evangelicals (the Evangelicals are sometimes called Protestants, but they are no Protestants at all because they don’t appreciate baptism as a sacrament) are spiritually dead. Everywhere in the public sphere (“street” means public sphere) one can encounter that spiritually dead people, and thus, “they lie on the street of the great city”.

Excursus concerning the Evangelicals

(yet without influence of the enlightened states, the doctrine of the Evangelicals was absolutely ruinous; they have never belonged to the House of God, the Christian Church; they have never belonged to the olive tree, the candlestick or the two witnesses)

It is high time to get rid of the Evangelicals: they are excluded (and have ever been excluded) from the Christian Church because they practice rebaptism. The main problem is even not that they baptize a second time; though, that is bad enough, but they have a complete wrong theology concerning baptism (they regard baptism as a mere symbolic act, a public confession of faith and act of obedience). Furthermore, their doctrine concerning the rebirth is wrong, and they hardly can define their rebirth (concerning that subject they remain in obscurity). An Evangelical can never be sure if he is really “born again” because the Evangelical rebirth is not defined at all – and, of course, Evangelicals are no Christians at all and understand nothing at all. Providing that an Evangelical would be sure of his “rebirth” (yet a delusion, of course); nevertheless, he would not yet be born again because the thing the Evangelicals regard as rebirth is no rebirth according to the evidence of the Bible (the so-called rebirth of the Evangelicals is simply a Nothing). The poorest people on earth are the Evangelicals because their whole “faith” is mere delusion or fantasy – they will face a rude awakening at Judgement Day. Evangelicals have merely an imagination of the things which real Christians really possess.

In contrast to the Evangelicals, the Christian Church considers the sacramental baptism as rebirth (through baptism, the rebirth is a clearly defined point in space and time when somebody becomes a Christian; no ecclesiastical Christian needs to doubt if he has really experienced the rebirth because he can cling to his baptism). Of course, the releasing power of baptism becomes effective in us only when we deliberately refer to it, or when we voluntarily want to live a Christian life through the power of baptism.

It is a shame that sometimes the Evangelicals are called Protestants because they are not even Christians. They are a very dangerous and very harmful sect which ruins the lives of many of their members. May God punish their leaders and lead out their ordinary members who are seduced by their leaders.

By the way, the theology of the Christian Church concerning baptism is according to the evidence of the Bible, is “biblical” (“biblical” is a favoured term of the Evangelicals by which they want to express that something would be according to the Bible).

In contrast, the theology of the Evangelicals is not according to the evidence of the Bible, is not “biblical”. Interesting: those ones who claim to be the chief-interpreters of the Bible, who constantly use the word “biblical” don’t understand the Bible at all – that is outrageous.

End of Excursus

The “great City” mentioned in the section of the Bible above is not Jerusalem but “Babylon”. By the term “Babylon” is meant the whole sinful, unbelieving world. And in the midst of that world, the Lord, Jesus Christ, was crucified. Once, Jesus Christ had been the head of the olive tree, the candlestick or the two witnesses, but the “beast” (in ancient times, the Roman Empire; today, the godless states under the leadership of the USA) which leads Babylon (the whole mankind led by the beast save the Church) has decapitated them, has robbed them of their head Jesus Christ.

What does that mean?

Like the Lord of the Church was killed by Babylon or the world (“beast” + unbelieving people) in the public sphere, also the Church was killed by the world in the public sphere whereby the death of the Church is not a physical death but a spiritual death. Of course, the spiritual death of the Church is much worse than the physical death of our Lord. For ever and ever, God will honour Jesus for his obedience up to the death on the cross. The Church which turned apostate will not be honoured for that but punished. All in all, let us keep in mind that the world is the enemy of God and His Church. Let us never seek friendship with the world. The world, which only prepared a cross for the Lord, can never be the friend of the Church – that, the Church should keep in mind.

Like the world has rid herself of Christ, she has rid herself of the (true) Christian Church.

The Church has paid too high a price for her physical life: her spiritual life. Only on the condition that the Christians remain spiritual dead (spiritual death means the absence of spiritual life), they are allowed to live here on earth – this is outrageous up to the stop.

Strictly speaking, there is no more true Christian Church on earth because the “decapitated” churches are spiritual dead.

“9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.”

Nothing else is meant by that than this: the world is exceedingly happy that she finally got rid of Christianity. The still existing spiritual dead “Christians” (nominal Christians) meaning “dead bodies” disturb her little, and thus they can be tolerated in the public sphere and be used as human robots in dirty factories (this is meant by the phrase “shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves”; the world is content with the spiritual death of the “Christians” and sees no need to kill them physically but uses them as workforces like the old Egyptians used the people of Israel which were probably also spiritually dead). Thus, this earth has become a Christianity-free zone, cleaned out. The state of a world completely without Christian testimony will last 3.5 “days” (no real days). However, no matter what 3.5 “days” really mean, compared with 1260 “days”, 3.5 “days” are a very short period of time. By the term 3.5 “days” shall be expressed that the time when there is no Christian testimony on earth is very short compared with the time when there was a Christian testimony. After God’s mission amongst the Gentiles has come to an end, he will quickly turn to the Jews again. Certainly, God cannot stand a world without Christian testimony for a long time.

11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.”

Dear reader, there are squillions of people which are happy about the fact that “we” have finally get rid of Christianity “after it has caused us so much trouble for centuries”. Read the following against this background.

The following will happen very soon:

Israel will accept Jesus from Nazareth as her Messiah, namely Israel as a whole meaning some million human beings. The state Israel, literally its whole territory, will become a giant church (Church) – the first state in history where Church and state are a unit. The last Gentile Christians will emigrate to Israel where they find refuge from the persecution by the Antichrist. After ca. 2000 years in lowliness, Christianity will radiant in glory, and its giant cathedral will be the country Israel form the creek of Egypt up to the river Euphrates.

Amen.

All those people believing that Christianity is finished will be thunderstruck when they hear the news of the conversion of Israel to Christianity.

Through a great miracle, God creates a people for His own possession in the midst of an completely apostatised mankind.

Christianity not only rebounds but is raised to heaven (even in a literal sense).

“13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.”

The apostatised world will attack Israel by military means under the leadership of the Antichrist because the “anachronism” of a true Christian country in the midst of a Christianity-free “civilisation” will be unbearable for the world; worse than a thorn in her side.

Still during that military attack, God and the Lamb (Jesus) will start to judge the world. The number “7000” (7 times 1000) symbolizes the antichristian universal Church of the end (“seven” means church and “thousand” means “all members or the whole”). God will destroy her physically together with all her members; he will slay them, kill them and do them to death. Those ones who watch the rapture of the true saints and experience the great earthquake from a distance are forced to give God the glory – the circumstances force them so to speak to give God the glory. They do not become believers, but give God the glory involuntarily; they are forced to worship God by the power of the events. However, this adoration will no more save them from eternal damnation; it just came to late.

1. Thessalonians 5: 2-3 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

1. Thessalonians 5: 2-3 shows us that at the day of the return of Christ – the same day when all believers will be carried away and a great earthquake takes place  –  there is no more possibility to repent, but “sudden destruction comes upon them”.

Revelation 16, 18-21 18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Those ones who had just honoured God (see Revelation 11: 13) because he punished the “Christians” (nominal Christians; symbolized by 7000, see above) through a great earthquake now blaspheme God who drops hailstones upon them. These people are probably Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and all other adherents of false religions and sects including all pure materialists. It is right; the Judgement of God starts at his own house (the apostatized Church), but he will all the more judge those ones who are completely outside His House.

1. Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

(the House of God in a broader sense are all people which are sacramentally baptized)

(the House of God in a narrower sense are all people who follow Jesus through the releasing power of their baptism)

Those ones of the House of God who did not follow Jesus through the releasing power of their sacramental baptism will be condemned to eternal damnation. The others who followed Jesus through the releasing power of their baptism will be saved through the rapture.

Note

Why doesn’t the author of the Revelation say 3.5 years instead of 42 months? In everyday life, nobody would quote the duration of such a long period of time by telling the months but by telling the years. Always, when we want to quote the duration of a period of time, we choose the greatest possible time unit because the greater we choose the time unit, the more easy to imagine it is for our reader or listener. However, the author of the Revelation did not choose the greatest possible time unit. Don’t let us imply that the authors of the books of the Bible were stupid and did not know common rules of expression (if we ascribe stupidity to the biblical authors, it could bring about our ruin – that is really dangerous). Well, what is the reason for the use of months instead of years? The reason is that by the quotation of 42 months a special year is defined – its just the definition of a  special year with 42 months. We are used to a 12-month-year, but, of course, God, the administrator of this world, has the right to define a year consisting of more or less months than twelve. Long before the Revelation was drafted, a special year was defined by Isaiah; Luke cites it in his gospel:

Luke 4: 18-19 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Isaiah puts it as follows:

Isaiah 61: 1-2 1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

This acceptable year of the Lord is meant by the 42 months. The whole time from the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem up to second coming of Christ is defined as one single year by God.

Luke also writes about the treading of Jerusalem by the Gentiles.

Luke 21: 24 And they (the Jews; R. B.) shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

What Luke describes in verse 24 is nothing but the conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans 70 A. D. and the treading of Jerusalem through the Gentiles up to the current day.

Immediately after verse 24, Luke writes the following concerning the very end of the world:

Luke 21: 25-28 25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

(let your eyes take note what your read here, dear reader)

Between verse 24 and verse 25, there are at least 1948 years (2018 years minus 70 years).

What I mean, is the following: in his “thoughts” God almost skips the time of the Gentiles, the time of the treading of Jerusalem (meanwhile 1948 years – nearly 2000 years!!!) and reduces it to just one single year which is, historically seen, nearly nothing.

Thus, spiritually seen, we today live in a long stretched “moment” which began 70 A. D. For God it is really only a moment. This moment is stretched that long because God doesn’t want that anybody gets lost; he would be happy if everybody could be saved. Therefore, he waits and waits and waits and gives the sinners time to repent and to start to believe in Jesus – God is extremely patient. The current state of Jerusalem is an abomination in God’s eyes and “makes him feel sick”. He is highly “tempted” to strike immediately and to restore His beloved city, but for the sake of the salvation of the sinners, he contains himself.

Why did God choose the number 42 and not any other number?

42 months are 3.5 years. The meaning of the term “3.5 years” was defined by the beloved servant of God, Daniel. By choosing the number 42, the author of the Revelation or God himself simply refers to the “3.5-year-period” defined by Daniel; therefore, God chose the number 42. The term “3.5 years” means the second half of the last of the 70 year-weeks (one year-week are seven real years except the last week) mentioned by Daniel. The middle of the last year-week is defined by destruction of the Temple by the Romans.

Daniel 9:24-27 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince (Roman Emperor Vespasian; R. B.) that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant (Christianity; R. B.) with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (the destruction of the Temple by Titus, the son of Vespasian, at 70 AD; R. B.), and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Yet 69.5 of the year-weeks of Daniel have elapsed. Messiah was “cut off” after 69 “weeks”, and after 69.5 “weeks” the Temple was destroyed. It has not yet happened that “consummation was poured up the desolation”. Indeed, today, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where in ancient times the Romans had built a temple of Jupiter in place of the Jewish Temple, we find the so-called Dome of the Rock of the Muslims, which is also an abomination of desolation like the temple of Jupiter. The Dome of the Rock is covered with strokes denying the divine sonship of Jesus Christ. Could there be any worse blasphemy of the triune or Christian God than to deny the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, a person of the Godhead? Possibly, the Dome of the Rock is a worse abomination of desolation than the temple of Jupiter. I guess, the fist thing which Jesus Christ will accomplish when he will return on Mount Olivet is that he destroys the Dome of the Rock with only one giant blow because he will return in the form or shape of God (!) – he will easily destroy that very nasty building of the Muslims, this spiritual wormhole, by one single powerful blow.

Addition

Concerning the 1260 “days”and the 3.5 “days”

One could ask why God quotes the numbers 1260 and 3.5 when we cannot calculate with them. Wouldn’t it be pointless to tell numbers which cannot be used for any calculation? However, there is a calculation which is allowed (allowed because it has nothing to do with the attempt to calculate times and points of time in the remote future). The ratio between the 3.5 “days” and the 1260 “days” is interesting and contains an important message for us. As there is no more real Christian testimony on earth (this is expressed by the phrase “and their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city”), we are in the midst of the 3.5 “days” (“and they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half”), almost the last stadium of human history. The period of time from the beginning of “the treading of Jerusalem” up to the “death of the two witnesses” (that is certainly the case today when a homosexual man is allowed to marry another man or even to become clergyman, and every kind of bad religion including Islam is tolerated) is about (2018 – 70 = 1948) years. The 1260 “days” symbolize 1948 years. Hence, we can make the following calculation to get the real time which is meant by the 3.5 “days”: 3.5 * 1948/1260 = ca. 5.411. One of the last stadiums of history will last, believe it or not, only about five and a half years. The only weak point of this calculation is that we don’t know for sure if the two witnesses are yet dead (it is possible that there is still some little life – though, I don’t know where). Yet, when we consider the current state of the Church, we cannot help to notice that either the witnesses have yet died for some years, or that they are about to die currently. At any rate, the conversion of the Jews must be at hand. Thus, let us go to Israel and tell them the gospel of Jesus Christ who died and rose for us. This calculation provides us HOPE  The current time is a very harsh time for every true Christian and he could despair regarding the current situation of the world. Yet, God comforts us by the message that this nightmare will be over soon, and we should take new courage to endure the whole mess until Israel starts to become a church/Church gradually. After this process of the conversion of the Jews, which will last a while, Christ will return and clean up the mess of this world.

The conversion of the people of Israel will not happen within a single second. It will take some time until some million people have converted. Assumed, from now (February 27, 2018) on, God would regard the two witnesses as dead, then there would be only about five and a half years until the Jews would start to convert. Yet, this conversion-process can last some decades because the people of Israel consist of some million people. Therefore, the second coming of Christ, who will return when the fullness of the Jews has converted, may be some decades away from us. However, historically seen, some decades are nearly nothing. Even for older people a decade is not a very long time regarding their subjective perception of it.

Though Christ’s return may be some decades away from us, we have a further comfort. Of course, the country Israel will become a great place of refuge for all persecuted Gentile Christians. Step by step, the country Israel will become a giant church/Church through the conversion of the Jews. A vibrant Church is a preliminary stage of paradise. And when once the Antichrist together with the whole unbelieving mankind will attack this little paradise, Christ will return and save us – he will raise us to heaven, the eternal place of refuge.

Daniel quotes a further period of time which is only a little different to 1260 “days”: 1290 “days” up to the second coming of Christ. 1260 “days” run up to the spiritual dead of the “two witnesses”, but the 1290 “days” of Daniel run even up to the return of Christ. Therefore, we can calculate the real time between Christ’s return and the spiritual death of the Church (however, the spiritual death of the Church is not easily exactly to determine).

Let us calculate: (1290-1260) * 1948/1260 = ca. 46.381

The accuracy of my thoughts could be examined when the Jews would start to convert right now – let us urgently pray for that. According to the calculation, we had to expect a duration for the conversion of the fullness of the Jews of about 46 years, and then Christ would return (the about 46 years would start exactly at the moment when the Church has completely “died”).

Daniel 12: 11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Correction

“The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit”

When we take in account the interpretation of Revelation, Chapter 12 and Chapter 13, then it becomes clear that the “beast” ascendeth out of the bottomless pit yet in the middle of the first century after Christ; at the latest at 70 after Christ when the Romans destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem. Yet in the year 49 after Christ emperor Claudius (reign: 41-51 after Christ) had expelled all Jews from Rome. In the year 43/44 a persecution descended upon the Church of Jerusalem. Hence, under Claudius, Rome, the Roman Empire, started to behave similar to the old historical Babylon – “the beast ascendeth” or began to “ascend”. The old historical Babylon fought against God’s people, and was an enemy of God’s people too. The authority of the old historical Babylon was the genuine “beast”, the primeval persecutor of God’s people, the primeval anti-divine power. When Rome made the pagan religion or cult a state affair and persecuted Jews and Christian just because of their different religion (there was no proper juristic reason to persecute them), the perished Babylon (the Medians and Persians had humbled it), spiritually seen, ascendeth out of the bottomless pit.

And when we consider the history of the last 2000 years, we see that also under the governments which followed the Roman Empire, the people of God was under pressure, both true Christians and biological Jews (strictly speaking, only a biological Jew which is also pious is a real Jew in God’s eyes).

The system which was practiced by the old Babylonians and which was implemented again by the Romans we have until today. Still today rules the “beast out of the bottomless pit”.

The states worldwide have agreed on a kind of civil religion which came out of the Enlightenment; the states collaborate with all established religious communities of this world (a second “beast”, see Chapter 13) in the creation of a certain conception of man. This conception of man is completely opposed to the Christian conception of man which is Christ himself.

Remark

One could accuse me that I would not be in unity with myself because at the one hand I would claim that we are not allowed to know (to calculate) times and point of times, and on the other hand I just would do it. Of course, as long as the Church was in an ordinary state meaning that she was spiritually alive, there was nothing to calculate because nobody could know in former times when the Church would spiritually die. Now, the Church has spiritually died or is about to die. Hence, when I now calculate something, it is no greater “prophecy” than the daily weather forecast. The people making the weather forecast cannot look into the future at all. In fact, they only tell us something which is just happening, only at another place related to ours. Imagine, you would live in a plain, and from far away somebody would approach your place. Because it is a plain, you could “predict” his arrival some hours before because you could see him from afar. Also the meteorologists simply have measuring stations every where (their “tele-eyes”). The weather they “predict” is nothing but the current weather which is merely some hundred or more kilometres away from us and approaches us. It yet exists when the weather forecast is made. A meteorologist could look into the future only if he would be able to predict the weather of the next year or so; this is impossible by means of scientific calculation – such a man would really have supernatural abilities.

However, I am not more than an ordinary meteorologist who just tells you what currently happens – he doesn’t really tell you something about the future.

When the Jews start to convert, which is an important point of my calculation, then, indeed, the second coming of Christ is practically at hand, is more or less there, appears so to speak at the horizon. More simply: Assumed, the Jews would start to convert today – that would be an extremely extraordinary event after such a long time of disbelief – it would be very, very clear that this would mean not only a new age or era or epoch for the Jews but for the whole mankind – and it is easy to predict something which is just happening.

Matthew 24: 42-44 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

These verses of Matthew mean that we should always be ready to welcome the Lord like a goodman is ready only at a certain day to “welcome” a thief.

That was valid yet at the time when the Church was spiritually alive. However, now, when the Church has “died”, Jesus Christ is knocking on the door. As Jesus Christ is knocking on the door, we should the more be ready to welcome him or urgently make us ready. The about 46 years I calculated above are nothing but the time between his knocking on the door and his real entrance. If an event yet is taking place, I can no longer calculate the point of time of the arrival of the event.

Esther, Purim and the Holocaust

Introduction

During the reign of King Ahasueros, the high state official Haman wanted to wipe out the Jews from the Medo-Persian Empire, which stretched from the river Nile to the river Indus back then. However, the God of Israel provided rescue to his people through His pious servants Esther and Mordecai (see book Esther).

What is the proof for Mordecai’s piety?

Well, Mordecai’s piety is proofed through the fact that he didn’t respect Haman, who probably was an Amalekite; though, that one was a high state official of the Medo-Persian Empire, and Ahasueros had commanded to pay homage to Haman.

Esther 3: 2 And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.

However, it was not the case that Mordecai had not respected the majesty of Ahasueros which one could conclude considering the issue only superficially, but there was a commandment of the God of Israel, who was Mordecai’s God, which was rather to obey than the commandment of the King.

Once, Mordecai had preserved the King from an attack; that shows that he was not only a servant of God but also a faithful servant of King Ahasueros from the bottom of his heart.

Esther 2: 21-23 21 In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus. 22 And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai’s name. 23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

Nevertheless, Mordecai felt obligated to and wanted voluntarily put his obedience against God over his obedience against the King when Haman was involved. It was impossible for Mordecai to reverence Haman like the King wanted because then he had denied his godliness. Just this shows us that Mordecai was pious; because he knew that he ran the risk when he transgressed the commandment of the King; Mordecai was an adherent of the costly grace.

Job 32: 22 For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.

Acts 5: 29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

How far was Haman bad?

Haman was bad because he probably was an Amalekite meaning an archenemy of the people of God.

1. Samuel 15: 33 And Samuel said, As the sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag (King of the Amalekites; R. B.) in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

Esther 8: 5 And said, If it please the king, and if I have favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king’s provinces:

(these two verses make it probable that Haman was an Amalekite which is expressed through the clanship of his father Hammedatha, who was an Agagite, who maybe were special Amalekites named after Agag)

The Jews had got God’s commandment to wipe out the Amalekites because this whole people had degenerated into a gang of outright robbers and criminals who shed innocent blood.

One could compare them with the Muslims of today which are the archenemies of the pious Christians. The Islam is no religion through which one could get into the presence of God who has made heaven and earth but exactly the opposite of that. Islam is fanaticism in purest form and makes obsessed ones out of his adherents. When one reads the (unholy) Koran, it becomes very clear, that the core of genuine Islam is nothing but the destruction or enslavement of the Christian peoples. Hence, the Islam is the anti-religion per se. Similarly fanatical like the modern Muslims must have been the old Amalekites, which wanted to destroy the old people of God, the Jews (the new people of God is the Christian Church). It was very right that the Israeli prophet Samuel made minced meat or hash out of Agag (King of the Amalekites; see the above verse 1. Samuel 15: 33) because that one was a mass murderer and had shed much innocent blood, the blood of the people of God.

Deuteronomy 25: 17-19 17 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; 18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.

(note: between the verses of Deuteronomy and the following verses of 1. Samuel below there are several centuries, but God still wants to wipe out the Amalekites; incredible, how God hated this people – they had for sure completely morally degenerated similar to the people of Sodom and Gomorra.

1. Samuel 15: 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

1. Samuel 15: 3 Now go and smite Amalek (that said Samuel to the Israeli King Saul; R. B.), and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

Warning: I don’t put a ban on the Muslims. I only want that we get to clarity and sobriety, and that we may realize what kind of people the Muslims are – we should really beware of them and be very wakeful. In other countries, they merciless kill the pious, innocent Christians or enslave them – we should no longer overlook that. Also the Ummah, the worldwide community of all Muslims, is in principle nothing but a giant, criminal gang which commits crimes under the smokescreen of religion. I regard them as that dangerous that I would expel all Muslims from Germany.

Main section

During the reign of Ahasueros, Gott rescued his people Israel in a miraculous way.

Why then didn’t he prevent the Holocaust, and treated Hitler and his accomplices like Haman before they could kill so many Jews?

The question is easy to answer.

The modern Jews lack pious servants of God which offer their whole life as a sacrifice to the God of Israel. Certainly, not all Jews which back then lived in the Medo-Persian Empire were pious, but at least Esther and Mordecai were pious. Approximately at that time, also people like Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah and others lived. I don’t know that today there would be only one single Jew who  could be compared for example with Daniel.

(don’t conclude now that there had been an justification for the Holocaust because in our times – I reckon the time of the Holocaust to our modern time – the Jews have apostatized completely from the faith in the God of Israel in contrast to the time of Ahasueros when there were at least some pious Jews – no, the Holocaust was a very, very heavy crime; however, God has not rescued the Jews from Adolf Hitler; that is an historical fact even though it is very regrettable)

It is high time that the Jews finally accept and recognize Jesus from Nazareth as their Messiah. Yet the pious Jews at the time of Ahasueros believed in him – only that they perhaps didn’t know that his human name was Jesus. In contrast to the modern Jews, those ones simply believed what is also written in the book of Isaiah which yet back then belonged to the Holy Scripture of the Jews. This redeemer, who is mentioned in the book of Isaiah, gave the old, pious Jews a life which did not get in conflict with the commandments of the Torah; this redeemer was even himself their life and this redeemer, who himself was the giver of the law, led them. Thus, they did not only keep the law but fulfilled it because the Son of God was within them. Because they lived in and through God through the redeemer, God protected them against the evil Haman and destroyed him together with his adherents.

Read Isaiah 53!

I believe that many modern Jews have the problem that they regard Jesus’ death on the cross as a proof of his weakness and consider Jesus a gloomy, miserable and helpless weakling.

1. Corinthians 1: 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

But, dear reader, if you are a Jew which would be very nice, then consider the issue a little more exactly. Historically seen, Jesus has not died in a certain sense meaning he has yet died, but historically seen he resurrected “in the same moment” (what mean three days from our perspective who live 2000 years later). Imagine a boxer who gets a hook to the chin, lies unconscious on the ground for some few minutes and gets up again – something similar befall Jesus, historically seen.

In a certain way, it was not possible to really kill Jesus. Of course, he was really dead when he hang at the cross and rested in the grave, but he resurrected from the dead again after “some” hours – in that sense, his death was not to compare with the death of an ordinary mortal, nothing final because when you or I would die today, we would certainly not come alive again so fast.

Briefly: Jesus was not the meek-goofy weakling as which the modern Jews consider him, but he accomplished a heroic deed by dying for us on the cross and bearing our sins there. By no means, Jesus had become the helpless plaything of the Romans and the Jewish establishment, who killed him, but he went this way very deliberately, self-controlled and voluntarily – he went this hard way for, for, for us. In fact, the way Jesus went was a way of strength – the strong redeemer, the strong God.

Militarily seen, the modern people of Israel sits on a volcano; that is obvious for everybody. Israel is surrounded by modern “Amalekites” (the Islamic states, the Islamic “beasts”); and Israel cannot be sure if the rest of the world including the USA are still her friends.

Would the Jews accept and recognize Jesus as their Messiah today, then he would wage war for them and rescue them from their enemies. He has the power to vaporize all their enemies within the twinkling of an eye.

Isaiah 9: 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Luke 1: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; (that said Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, about Jesus; R. B.)

Revelation 19: 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. (the rider of the white horse is Jesus; R. B.)

Revelation 19: 15 And out of his (Jesus; R. B.) mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

It is interesting that the Jews still today at Purim commemorate the rescue from the evil Haman through the God of Israel during the reign of Ahasueros despite the fact that God has not rescued them from Adolf Hitler and his accomplices, despite the historical fact of the Holocaust. Purim could still today be a permanent blessing and more than a feast for a Jew if he really would ask himself, why God rescued the Jews during the reign of Ahasueros but not during the reign of Adolf Hitler. The answer to this question is simply as mentioned above that the Jews still lack a redeemer (today we know that his name is Jesus) who could give them a life which pleases God. They still try to keep the law of the Torah through their own, natural power which is impossible instead of allowing the law to convict them of their outright natural weakness (sinfulness) and then reaching out for a the redeemer who wants to live within us so that we can live a life that pleases God – in that way we not only keep the law but fulfil it. If we have peace with God and our life pleases him, then he protects us against our enemies, and thus we not only celebrate Purim but it becomes REALITY again for us after such a long time.  

Assumed, the Jews had yet accepted Jesus as their Messiah during the reign of Adolf Hitler, Jesus had rescued them from Hitler and his accomplices. As the Jews did not accept Jesus as their Messiah, they had to pay a high price for their disbelief – the lives of squillions of legally innocent people (Jews).

Rejection of the Messianic Jews – their heretical faith doesn’t provide salvation

Messianic Jews believe that Jesus from Nazareth is the Messiah, but at the same time, they adhere to Judaism. That is a strong contradiction in itself even if they stress salvation through faith in Jesus alone.

Generally, somebody who is a biological descendent of the biblical Patriarch Jacob is called a Jew. Those people who actually practice ordinary Judaism are mostly biological descendants of Jacob. The biological descent of its adherents from Jacob among other things characterizes ordinary Judaism – the descent plays a very important role. However, ordinary Judaism is not according to the correct interpretation of the Old Testament (Tanakh or Hebrew Bible), and it doesn’t save anybody. The correct interpretation of the Old Testament rather leads to Christianity than to Judaism even if the New Testament is not considered – it is also the evidence of the Old Testament that everybody needs a divine redeemer in order to be able to live a pious life which will be rewarded with eternal life. It is not the evidence of the Old Testament that man becomes righteous through works of law like ordinary Judaism is teaching (however, someone believing in the redeemer will never live a lawless life but fulfils the law of the Torah through walking in the Holy Spirit; someone who is led by the giver of the law, God or God’s Spirit, fulfils the law. To fulfil the law, is much more than to keep it, another category).

Messianic Jews obviously don’t have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God; otherwise, they would realize that ordinary Judaism is reprehensible, and they would not practice Judaism. This is valid despite the fact that they may stress salvation through faith in Jesus and may deny righteousness through works of the law. If they really would reject Judaism, they would not practise it – it is not enough to confess with the mouth that they would not hinge salvation on keeping the law; as long as they practice Judaism, there stressing of salvation by faith in Jesus is mere lip service.

Because the Messianic Jews practice Judaism, they are condemned and rejected herewith. They are excluded from the Christian Church, and their leaders shall be cursed. The Lord may have mercy upon the ordinary Messianic Jews and may bring out them to the Christian Church.

Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, etc. were in principle, spiritually seen, Christians because they believed in a divine redeemer and overcame their natural sinfulness through the power of the Lord-redeemer (certainly, they did not know that the redeemer’s name was Jesus but just called him Lord).

Nowadays, someone becomes a Christian through repentance, faith and sacramental baptism (sacramental baptism has nothing to do with the baptism of the Evangelicals but is another  thing). The sacramental baptism is the rebirth out of Water and Spirit. God acts during the sacramental baptism and makes the person to be baptized new in a supernatural way – it is just actually a rebirth.

Excursus concerning the Evangelicals

The Evangelicals are cursed and excluded from the Christian Church because they don’t preserve the sacramental baptism of the general Christian Church; the Evangelicals regard the rebirth as an event which is completely independent from baptism; they remain in obscurity with their doctrine on the rebirth – they cannot exactly define what the rebirth is or should be. Furthermore, their doctrine concerning baptism is wrong: they regard baptism as mere symbolic act, an act of obedience and public confession of faith. According to their false doctrine, baptism succeeds rebirth (baptism and rebirth are two separated things in their eyes). They don’t regard baptism as gateway to the Christian life. In their sight, someone who has already been “born again” gets himself baptized as act of obedience – baptism is part of his “new life” or “discipleship” but not the gateway to it in their eyes. The baptism and rebirth of the Evangelicals is highly problematical because the evangelical believer gets redirected to himself; but in himself the evangelical believer will find only emptiness and weakness (sinfulness). The evangelical leaders require the ordinary evangelicals to follow Jesus without providing the necessary power for that. Hence, the ordinary evangelical who really believes that nonsense in his naivety will become very unhappy because his life will consist only of defeats – he may even also consider to commit suicide considering the mess of his life. Thus, the evangelical leaders are real soul-murderers destroying the life of many naive people.

End of excursus 

One could ask the justified question how people experienced the rebirth during Old Testament times because in the Old Testament nothing is told about any sacramental baptism.

Well, determining is that man gets into the life-giving presence of God. Only God himself has the power to release us, who are natural born sinners, from sin and to give us a new life in Christ.

The parents of Jesus, Joseph and Mary were very pious. Spiritually seen, they were Christians; though, this name for a pious man did not yet exist at the lifetime of Jesus. In Luke we can read how Joseph and Mary brought Jesus into the Temple when he was still an infant. In that Temple, the God of Israel was present and still the grownup Jesus called the Temple “the house of my father”. Also other pious Jews took their children to the Temple. Of course, in the case of Jesus,, Jesus was not sanctified through the ritual but the ritual was sanctified through Jesus – Jesus was yet holy, holy, holy before he was born into the womb of his mother because Jesus is God incarnate.

Interpretation of Luke, chapter 2: verses 22-40; the presentation of Jesus in the Temple

Luke 2: 22-40 22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; 23 (As it is written in the law of the LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. 25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. 36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Interpretation

For God, the birth of a child rather seems to be a reason for grief than a reason for joy because after a Jewish woman has born a child, she is impure for several weeks.

You, dear reader, may ask, “what a God is this?” Perhaps, you may also say, “the God of the Bible is even more cruel than Allah!”

Let me explain this to you.

The natural birth of a human being is nothing but the reproduction of “human flesh” or serves the breeding of the human race. According to the doctrine of the Bible, we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, and we all have inherited one feature from them: the extreme inclination to sin (sinning means to act against love – love relates to God and human beings; it is possible to sin without the presence of commandments, simply through lovelessness; love according to God’s will often is not what we imagine as love; God’s love is distinct from natural love). We should not pretend that these statements here would be mere theory as if they would not address us because if somebody sins against us in everyday life, we really feel the pain and experience some serious suffering, maybe up to the death. Afterwards, we wish then that nobody had sinned against us, had been loveless. Hence, it is about something real. We take a great step forward when we admit that we ourselves are loveless sometimes.

The nub of the matter: when God has some resentments against the mankind, then this is not far-fetched, but has a real reason. Always when we are aggrieved or insulted because somebody has sinned against us, then we confirm God’s bad opinion about the mankind. If there would be no evil, we would never be aggrieved or insulted.

Do you get it gradually, dear reader?

When a child is born into this world, then this is nothing more than the increase of the mass of those beings which constantly commit sins against each other and ignore God who does them so much good (for example, good harvests, good weather, health, etc.)

Jesus expresses that like this: “What is born from the flesh, is flesh.”

John 3: 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

If there would still be a Temple (building) in Jerusalem, then a Jewish woman who has had a baby would go to the Temple again first 33 days or 66 days after the birth. This, she would normally do in simple obedience to God’s commandment without deeper thoughts (see Leviticus 12).

Yet, that would be a very “weak” keeping of the commandment (a keeping according to Judaism). The commandment would then really be kept (according to the Christian faith), even fulfilled, when the concerning woman (mother) would take the waiting time (time of her purification from the impurity caused by the birth) up to the visit of the Temple to present her child as an hint for the total worthlessness and reprehensibility of the natural man and the natural birth: “Why I am not allowed to go to the Temple for such a long time?” Answer: through the natural birth of the child actually nothing good has happened, but just the mass of sinful flesh on earth has increased. Nothing good happened but even something bad, something harmful; therefore, the woman who gave birth to such a little heap of sinful flesh shall keep her away from the Temple for a while – so to speak she has impured herself through the birth of the child.

What is the solution?

Finally, after 33 or 66 days one should get the idea to dedicate the child to the Lord. That little heap of sinful flesh can become precious when it gets offered on the altar of God (please don’t impute now that I would claim that little children should be burnt on an altar as sacrifices – this imagination is perverse and it shall be far away from me to kill infants). However, this sinful flesh must be offered to God by dedicating the child’s life to God.

Exodus 13: 2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.

Once, God imposed heavy penalties on Egypt because they did not want to let go the people of Israel. The last plague was the worst: God killed all male firstborns in the land Egypt from man up to cattle. It would be understandable if one would argue, “how was the son of a poor peasant at the river Nile responsible for the bad rule of Pharaoh?” Well, the ordinary Egypts were not completely guiltless of the bad rule of Pharaoh. Every single Egyptian had had the possibility to convert from paganism to the faith of Israel, but seemingly not even one single Egyptian did it.  Maybe, if only one ordinary little Egyptian had prayed against the Pharaoh, God had destroyed him without doing harm to the people of Egypt – but there was nobody. Finally, the whole people of Egypt had fused with the Pharaoh to a metaphysical, satanic body, and thus God stroke not only the Pharaoh but the whole people, the whole body. Today, does pray only one German against Angela Merkel and one American against Barack Obama? God will judge the German people and the American people because through their godlessness they supported their godless regents.

The killing of the Egyptian firstborns was primarily a chastisement to motivate the Egyptians or Pharaoh to let go the people of Israel. Beyond that, it shows us how little value a pagan human life has in the eyes of God (note that even Egyptian firstborns were killed who had directly nothing to do with the mistreatment of the Jews by Egypt). Of course, the Egyptians lamented their firstborns, and there was a great screaming, but altogether they only were a wild, pagan horde of evildoers and villains: how had they abused the poor Jews and locked up their heart against them (they cast little Jews into the river Nile and plagued the Jews through slave labour).

However, a little new born Jew was not at all distinct from a little Gentile or pagan concerning his biological or natural condition; he was only sinful flesh as long as God had not made him new. Therefore, I have told the story of the Egyptians and Israel. A little Jew without the assistance of a divine Person, without God’s salvation was not more complacent to God than a little Gentile or pagan (put that into your mind and keep it in mind, dear reader). The only benefit which a Jew had compared with a pagan was that God had chosen the people he belonged to meaning for a Jew, God was much easier to find than for a pagan. The pagans had “only” the testimony of the creation (however, that is not little), but to the Jews as a whole, the people of Israel, God revealed himself personally in addition to the testimony of the creation – that is very exciting. For example, God was always present in the Tabernacle or in the Temple – there, he could always easily be found by any Jew with a real longing.

Exodus 12: 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

God was actually present in the old Temple of Jerusalem. When back then someone took a child into the Temple, it came into God’s presence. Thus, God could change “a little heap of sinful flesh” into something new. The counterpart to that today is the sacramental baptism when a child is presented to God who makes it a new creature: the sinful flesh becomes declared dead and the Holy Spirit is given who makes possible an increasingly holy life (according to Romans 6). This is the rebirth out of Water and Spirit (according to John 3).

“What is born from the Spirit, is Spirit”, Jesus said.

2. Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Galatians 6: 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

If their was anybody who did not need the rebirth out of Water and Spirit, then it was Jesus because Jesus was God incarnate and the redeemer himself. When an ordinary Jewish child was brought into the Temple, then it became holy through the ritual. Yet, the ritual became effective only under the providence of pious parents meaning Jews believing in a redeemer and living in and through the redeemer. That would be equal to a sacramental baptism today which only becomes effective when it is applied in a pious surrounding. Baptism is valid even without pious surrounding, but develops it releasing power only when there is a pious surrounding. Of course, somebody who has been baptized in a surrounding of unbelievers (of course, that should not be the rule) can cling to his baptism through his own faith when he is grownup.

In contrast to the presentation of an ordinary child, the ritual was sanctified through Jesus but not Jesus through the ritual.

All Jews which faithfully took their children to the Temple – their children were changed. Mary and Joseph take the redeemer himself into the Temple; Jesus, the infant. Through that, Jesus identifies himself  with all little, Jewish children which had ever been and would ever be taken to the Temple to present them to the Lord. Thus, Jesus makes something new out of the little heap of sinful flesh. Through his coming into the Temple Jesus has sanctified all past presentations of children and all future presentations. Do you get the crux? The crux is that Jesus identifies himself with all this little sinful infants though he himself was without sin – God really climbed down from heaven and visited the sinners in the person of his Son Jesus Christ.

Simeon was a pious Jew and the Holy Spirit was with him. Hence, he had peace with God.

Why is he so happy about the birth of the child Jesus? What could Jesus add on to his faith?

Well, very simple; Jesus was even not the invisible God but the visible God: “God with us.” When Simeon took the little Jesus upon his arms, he felt a happiness similar to the happiness felt by people participating in the Lord’s Supper today. Through the infant Jesus, God came closer to Simeon than he had ever experienced it before. Simeon carried God in his arms – breathtaking.

Every Christian is principally connected with God, has the Holy Spirit, but the participation in the Lord’s Supper is something special nevertheless. It is a communion with the Lord which surpasses the community of the daily life. Through Jesus, God has entered our sphere of life – he is no more infinite, unreachable remote from us in the heavens. This experience made Simon and this experience makes a Christian today at the Lord’s Supper. We see here again what faith really is: not only the considering-as-true of the Gospel but a new life in the power of the sacral connection with Jesus. At the very beginning, there is the sacramental baptism, the rebirth out of Water and Spirit, when we die for the sin and receive the Holy Spirit.

Romans 10: 6-8 6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

(Jesus, the Word, is God who came down to us; “God with us” is his name; his is not remote in the heaven, also not with the dead but very close to us)

The Lord’s Supper strengthens our faith and helps to preserve the new life in Jesus.

Martin Luther on the Lord’s Supper:

Therefore, it is rightly called a meal for the soul which nurtures and strengthens the new man. By baptism we get born again, but we retain our sinful body. There is so much hindrance and challenge by the devil and the world that we become sleepy and tired and stumble sometimes. Therefore, the sacrament is given unto us for daily pasture and feeding that the faith may recover and be strengthened not to suffer any backslide in this struggle but to become stronger and stronger. For, the new life shall be structured in a way that it always increases and proceeds. However, it has to suffer a lot. For, the devil is such an angry enemy: when he sees that one opposes him and denies the works of the old man, and that he cannot overcome us by use of violence, then he sneaks around and tries all tricks and does not give up until he has finally made us tired so that one either turns apostate or neglects his service for the Lord. For that, the comfort of Lord’s Supper is given; when the heart feels that everything becomes too difficult, it can find new power and refreshment here.”

End of quote.

Perhaps, once Simeon’s parents had taken him to the Temple, and he believed in a renewing through God’s presence which he had experienced as a little child in the Temple. But the God who has come down from heaven to the mankind is even Jesus, and thus Simon got strengthened without knowing how through that little child which he carried on his arms. Simon carried the personified sacrament on his arms – breathtaking.

“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, . . .”

Strange that Luke tells us that Simeon was a man (what should he else be?)

What does Luke really want to tell us by telling us that he was a man?

Answer: Simeon was a man compared with all other citizens of Jerusalem. He was a real Jew by being pious and godly and expecting the comfort of Israel. In Matthew, we read how all citizens of Jerusalem got frightened when the Three Wise Men proclaimed the birth of Christ. Obviously, they lived that godless and disloyally that the rule of the Messiah could mean nothing good for them (they expected to be judged by him). There was no worse news for them than about the arrival of the Messiah. Simeon was the opposite of them, and therefore Luke called him “man”.

“A light to lighten the Gentiles,”

Seemingly, Simeon had guessed that the most Jews would not accept Jesus and therefore mentions the Gentiles yet at the beginning of Jesus’ life; this is the special thing of this phrase because Jesus had come for the Jews at first and not for the Gentiles. But Simeon knew very soon how things would turn out.

“that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. ”

Which thoughts?

Do I want to have glory yet on earth and live under the self-deception, I could then also have glory in the heavens above, or I am ready to live in lowliness here on earth with the certainty of having glory in the heavens. This thought becomes manifest through accepting or rejecting Jesus. How I deal with Jesus, shows if God is precious for me, if I found him worth to offer him my life as a sacrifice or not. The person of the Godhead who addresses man is Jesus. When I choose him, I know that I have made the decision for eternal life together with God, very clearly; but I also know that that means lowliness on earth (suffering, rejection, persecution). But that is the crux of the issue: I know that it costs something to choose Jesus, but through that I show that eternal life, God’s favour is worthwhile for me. By choosing or rejecting Jesus it becomes manifest what I am really – my heart.

The false doctrine on baptism of the Messianic Jews (click here, please)